Woman attacked by jaguar after climbing fence to take selfie

A woman was attacked by a jaguar at an Arizona zoo after she climbed over the enclosure to take a selfie.

Although it should be common knowledge not to approach wild animals, even those in captivity, some people simply don’t seem to understand the dangers until it’s too late.

And that’s exactly what happened to a woman in 2019 when she saw a photo opportunity with a jaguar at the Wildlife World Zoo in Phoenix.

Witnesses say the unnamed woman climbed over the barricade to take a selfie with one of the zoo’s jaguars.

A witness filmed the aftermath of the attack, showing the woman lying on the ground in agony after the female jaguar pounced on her and lashed out at her with her claws.

She suffered severe cuts and scratches on her arms.

Witness Adam Wilkerson told CNN he was at the zoo with his family when someone ran around the corner and screamed for help.

“Without thinking, I had no idea what I was going to see, I just ran there,” he said. “I saw the other girl standing at the fence with her arm caught in the claws of the jaguar.”

The woman suffered major cuts and scratches from the jaguar. (ABC News)

He claimed he could “see the claws in her actual flesh” but didn’t want to pull her away from the jaguar to cause more damage.

The woman, aged in her 30s, was taken to hospital where her arm wounds were treated.

Wildlife World Zoo continued to investigate the matter and said: “We regret to inform you that an incident was reported before closing this evening where, according to eyewitnesses, a guest crossed the barrier to take a photo.”

“The visitor suffered life-threatening injuries to his arm from one of our female jaguars. At the family’s request, paramedics were called.

“The animal was never outside its enclosure. The incident will be fully investigated.”

Of course, there were fears that the jaguar would be euthanized, but the zoo later confirmed on X that the big cat would not be euthanized.

A statement said: “We can promise you that nothing will happen to our Jaguar.

“It is a wild animal and appropriate barriers have been put in place to ensure the safety of our guests – it is not the fault of a wild animal if barriers are breached. I still send prayers to (the woman) and her family.”

The woman subsequently returned to the zoo to apologize for the incident and expressed that she felt bad about the bad press the zoo was receiving.

Spokeswoman Kristy Morcum said, according to CNN, “She feels terrible about the bad publicity the zoo is receiving regarding the incident.”

Topics: Animals, World News