A woman who police say climbed a fence at a New Jersey zoo and was nearly bitten by a tiger has been charged.
Zyair J. Dennis, 24, of Millville, is charged with defiant trespass and violating two city ordinances after allegedly climbing fences Aug. 18 at the zoo, Bridgeton police said in a statement Monday.
Authorities began investigating Tuesday after the city’s recreation department received video and still photos from Cohanzick Zoo patrons showing a person “jumping over a fence and approaching the tiger’s enclosure, reaching into the cage before quickly withdrawing his hand when the animal reacted aggressively.” the statement said.
There is video of a similar scenario involving the same person on the same day and involving the bear enclosure, police said.
A video shows a woman scaling a wooden fence designed to keep visitors away from the tigers before climbing directly onto the high metal fence and sticking her hand through a gap in an apparent attempt to pet the animal.
The tiger quickly moves its jaws towards her, forcing her to quickly pull her hand away and move away. She stops and poses before climbing back over the wooden enclosure.
Dennis is scheduled to appear in city municipal court next month.
It was not immediately clear Monday afternoon whether Dennis had retained an attorney. Attempts to reach her Monday afternoon were unsuccessful.
The incident is reminiscent of one at the Bronx Zoo in New York in 2019, when a woman entered the lion enclosure and stood a few feet away from one of the lions.
