Visitor scales fence near tiger in Oakland Zoo
Oakland Zoo issues warning after visitor jumps fence near tiger.
A man in California reportedly climbed over one of the barriers at the Oakland Zoo that separate visitors from the tiger habitat – while the animal was inside.
Patty Fayad was with her family on Sunday when she witnessed and recorded the incident, she told KTVU Fox 2. She recalled hearing the unidentified man mention that something had fallen over the barrier, she said.
“He was trying to retrieve something but we didn’t see what it was,” Fayad told Fox 2.
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Fayad’s video starts on a shot of the tiger before panning over to the man, who had already made his way to the other side of the barrier. The recording then shows the tiger again as it hops down and approaches a separate, nearby fence. At no point in the video is the man seen making it down to the ground.
An onlooker admonished the man for his behavior, Fayad told Fox 2.
The man, who was reportedly not harmed in the incident, would have been unable to enter the tiger’s habitat due to a secondary 18-foot-high chain link fence located in between the animal and the public barrier, Erin Harrison, a spokesperson for the Oakland Zoo, told Fox News.
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There had not been a zoo staff member stationed at the tiger’s habitat at the time of the incident, she added.
“The Oakland zoo meets and exceeds safety requirements set by state, federal, and AZA accreditation standards. We hope that all of our visitors act responsibly, and don’t attempt to put themselves in potentially unsafe situations,” Harrison said in a statement to Fox News. “We thank the Zoo guests that reacted to this individual’s actions when it occurred and alerting us.”
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