A woman was attacked by a jaguar at a zoo in Arizona after climbing a barrier near to the enclosure, according to eye-witnesses.
The woman was at Wildlife World Zoo in Litchfield Park when she reportedly scaled a barrier to get a closer photo of the animals but was attacked by a female jaguar.
She was left with injuries and required medical attention, according to a tweet sent from the zoo's official account.
Advert
The tweet read: "The visitor sustained non-life-threatening injuries to their arm from one of our female jaguars. At the request of the family, paramedics were called. At no time was the animal out of its enclosure...please understand why barriers are put in place. Sending prayers to the family tonight."
The zoo added: "The incident is being fully investigated."
And when asked what had happened, the zoo replied to one social media user by saying: "She climbed over a barrier to get a photo."
The unnamed woman, who is in her 30s, was taken to hospital to receive treatment, KPHO reported.
Advert
Adam Wilkerson, who was at the zoo with his family during the incident, told CNN he heard people shouting for help and went to see what was happening.
"Without thinking, I had no idea what I was going to see, I just ran over there," he said.
"I saw the other girl up against the fence with her arm caught in the jaguar's claws."
He added that his mother put a water bottle through the gate in an attempt to distract the big cat and says it worked, with the jaguar setting the woman free after the bottle landed on the other side of the cage.
Since the zoo posted about the incident online, animal-lovers have responded to urge them not to punish the animal, with one writing: "Please don't do anything to that animal. It's not the jaguar's fault that she crossed the barrier."
Advert
The zoo replied to reassure people the jaguar wouldn't be hurt, posting: "We can promise you nothing will happen to our jaguar. She's a wild animal and there were proper barriers in place to keep our guests safe - not a wild animal's fault when barriers are crossed. Still sending prayers to her and her family."
Featured Image Credit: Wildlife World Zoo/Facebook