Jaguar at Florida zoo injures man who climbed barrier, taunted animal

[Teh One Who Knocks]

The Associated Press




JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was injured by a jaguar at a Florida zoo after climbing over a barrier and moving too close to the animal’s enclosure, officials said.

The attack occurred Wednesday at the Range of the Jaguar display at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, the Florida Times-Union reported. The man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, zoo officials said.

The man climbed over a waist-high safety barrier that puts about 4 feet of empty space between visitors and the jaguar exhibit’s fence, zoo spokeswoman Kelly Rouillard said. The man began taunting the jaguar and reached his hand through the fence, she said.

A 12-year-old big cat named Harry swiped at the man and injured him. Rouillard said the feline was acting as part of his normal behavior for a wild animal and didn't expect anything to happen to him. Officials confirmed that Harry was involved in a fight that left another jaguar dead earlier this year.

Zoo officials said they don’t plan to pursue criminal charges against the injured man, whose name wasn’t released.

[Griffin]

I hope they put the man down

[lost in melb.]

What an idiot. Having said that, I once jumped the fence and patted a baby cheetah through the wire at the zoo. It was purring and affectionate.

Taunting any sort of cat, even a house cat is asking for trouble.

Final note. I seriously wonder if any of these animals should be confined...

[Griffin]

[Muddy]

Good for that Jaguar..!

[deebakes]

[Godfather]

What an idiot. Having said that, I once jumped the fence and patted a baby cheetah through the wire at the zoo. It was purring and affectionate.

Taunting any sort of cat, even a house cat is asking for trouble.

Final note. I seriously wonder if any of these animals should be confined...

Are you serious!? That's wild.

Agreed though. Anytime I've seen big cats at zoos it just bums me out. The lion at the Hawaii zoo when I was there a few years back was just wondering in circles and roaring. It was truly depressing. I get the argument that the money from zoos funds a lot of conservation work and educates the public, but I hope in the future we find better ways...

[Griffin]

Legit zoos don't get animals from the wild. They are either bred in captivity where they share animals from other zoos across the country to keep the gene pool cleaner, or rescues from ignorant people that thought they could keep a wild animal in their home.
In the mid 70's I used to go see Ivan the gorilla at a local shopping center in Tacoma,Wa. Poor guy spent most of his life in that small concrete cage till he was finally adopted by the Atlanta zoo.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_(gorilla)