Police are looking for a woman who took a little “paws” by climbing over the fence at the tiger enclosure of the Cohanzick Zoo in New Jersey.
A Facebook post from the Bridgeton Police Department reports that a woman scaled a wooden fence in an attempt to touch a tiger. She came dangerously close to being bitten in the process.
In footage released by the authorities, the woman is seen attempting to lure a tiger by reaching her hand through the wire enclosure. Of course, this prompted the animal to snap at her hand. She quickly recoils just as the Bengal tiger shifts its gaze away.
The Woman Ignored Clear Warnings From the Zoo
The police department’s Facebook post also included a photo of a sign located by the zoo enclosure. The sign says: “Do not climb over the fence. Climbing over any zoo fence is against city ordinance 247-C.”
“Reminder to the public when visiting the zoo that it is against City Ordinance to climb over any fence,” the department noted in their statement.
Meanwhile, News 12 New Jersey reported that the ordinance stipulates that such actions may lead to an individual being restricted or banned from the zoo.
As stated on the zoo’s website, this Bengal tiger is one of two that was born in 2016 and donated to the zoo from North Carolina. It was only 20lbs as a cub, but now tips the scales at 500lbs. The zoo states that the Bengal tiger is regarded as the second largest tiger species, following the Siberian tiger.
The Internet Reacts to Footage of a Woman Jumping a Zoo Fence to Pet a Tiger
Of course, the footage of the woman scaling the zoo fence to pet the tiger found its way to all corners of the internet. Outraged denizens of the internet took to a YouTube comment section to vent over the woman’s lack of judgment.
“Narcissistic entitlement,” one YouTube denizen wrote in the comments. “I’ve seen people get out of their car and relieve themselves while driving through the safari.””
“And when something happens, they will destroy the animal… dumbest people,” a second onlooker wrote.
A third video watcher couldn’t believe the woman’s good fortune.
“Tiger was in a playful mood. Very lucky and very stupid,” they wrote.