Zoo fierce on dancing woman harassing lion: “She could have died”

A zoo in New York has filed a complaint against a woman who climbed over the fence of a lion’s enclosure last weekend. The visitor walked nonchalantly towards one of the animals and harassed the lion with gestures and little dances. The lady put her life in danger, says a spokesman for The Bronx Zoo, with 4,000 animals, the largest city zoo in the United States.

“This action was a serious offense that could have led to serious injury or death,” says the zoo about the woman who had climbed over the safety barrier at an African lion exhibition. A visitor who witnessed the bizarre scene made a video and placed it on Instagram.

In the video, you can see how the woman, dancing and waving her hands, is visibly harassing the lion. The animal watches curiously and seems to be able to attack the woman at any moment. The woman does not appear frightened or worried for a moment, not even when the animal comes to a few steps closer and various bystanders – including young children – express their concerns about the situation in the background. “I asked her to go back, but she doesn’t listen,” you can hear.

No arrests

An attack doesn’t come in the end. The visitor leaves the lion’s enclosure and continues into the zoo. A police detective told CNN that no one in the park had called the emergency number and that no arrests had been made. Bronx Zoo did report this to the police when they saw the images.

It is still unclear how the woman crossed the barrier and how long she has been in the lion’s house. “Barriers and rules are there to keep visitors, staff, and animals safe. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards ignoring the barriers,” says the zoo. It is also not yet clear whether the zoo now knows who the woman in question has been. A lifelong park ban will likely await her.