There is a thin line between bravery and stupidity, but some people are only too eager to cross it without considering the consequences of their actions.
In such cases, the onus falls on society to help them curb their excessive grit, which is why the police are looking for a woman who jumped over a fence of a tiger enclosure in a New Jersey Zoo, putting not only herself but also the tiger in a precarious situation.
The incident happened at the tiger enclosure at the Cohanzick Zoo in New Jersey. According to a Facebook post from the Bridgeton Police Department, the woman scaled a wooden fence in an attempt to touch a tiger and almost got bitten in the process.
The Tiger Almost Bit the Woman’s Hand Off
Footage shared by the police on Facebook and shared by a local media outlet captured the woman trying to entice the tiger. She could be seen putting her hand through the wire enclosure, causing the wild cat to try and bite it off.
Fortunately, the woman came to her senses quickly and moved back before the Bengal tiger turned away. The police department’s Facebook post also included a photo of a warning sign at the zoo by the enclosure. It read, “Do not climb over the fence. Climbing over any zoo fence is against city ordinance 247-C.”
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“Reminder to the public when visiting the zoo that it is against City Ordinance to climb over any fence,” the police department added. The woman’s actions are liable to get her banned or restricted from the Zoo.
“The high-quality care of the animals, along with the safety of our guests and visitors, is our top priority,” John Medica, Director of Recreation and Public Affairs for the City of Bridgeton, said in a statement. “Any visitor behavior that places the animals, staff, and members of the public in a potentially dangerous situation is unacceptable and will be addressed accordingly.”
According to the zoo’s website, the tiger is one of two Bengal tigers born in 2016. They were reportedly donated to the Cohanzick Zoo by a zoo in North Carolina.
According to the New Jersey Zoo, the Bengal is the largest tiger in the wild, second only to the Siberian tiger in size. Had it laid paws on the wanted woman, it would have made quick work of her. Hopefully, the police find her before she tries something worse.
Why Is Jersey Zoo Famous?
Gerald Durrell created the New Jersey Zoo with the welfare and survival of endangered animals as the foremost priority. Although the zoo has existed for more than six decades, the priority has remained the same.
The New Jersey Zoo houses more than 1,400 mammals and some of the world’s most endangered animal species. It offers sanctuary and sometimes a genuine lifeline to some of these creatures, some of which are so endangered that the chances of seeing them in their indigenous habitat are low.
How Much Is the Entrance to Jersey Zoo?
Admission to the New Jersey Zoo costs adults and children approximately $24.92 and $19.68, respectively, but it is free for infants (kids younger than three). The standard concessions fee is $22.30.
What Animals Is New Jersey Known For?
New Jersey is home to animals like the black bear, white-tailed deer, wild turkeys, coyotes and foxes, small game animals, migratory birds, and furbearers like beaver, river otter, mink, muskrat, opossum, raccoon, among others.
What Is the Largest Zoo in New Jersey?
Space Farms Zoo & Museum, located in Wantage, is the largest New Jersey Zoo and doubles as a museum. The original owners, Ralph and Elizabeth Space, never intended to create a zoo at first.
It all began in 1927 when they bought the first 1/4 acre of a complex that has expanded to more than 400 acres. The Zoo started as a small general store and repair shop. But things began to change when the New Jersey State Game Department employed Ralph to trap predators terrorizing farm animals.
An avid sportsman, Ralph would respond to distress calls from local farmers in the springtime. Around that time, bobcats, foxes, and raccoons had young to feed and would prey on the easy farm animals. However, he built small enclosures around his garage to save rather than kill them.
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Ralph originally intended to keep the animals until the fall, when the pelts became valuable. But when that time came, three small Space children—Loretta, Edna, and Fred—cried and begged their father to keep the animals.
By the following spring, the animals had multiplied, and the wildlife collection had grown. Soon after, people caught wind of the Space family’s wild animal collection and started driving down to see it, and thus, the most prominent New Jersey Zoo was born.
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