A jaguar attacked a woman at the Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium and Safari Park in Arizona while she was trying to take a selfie. Zoo officials say that the woman reached over a barrier to take the photo when the jaguar swiped at her. She suffered cuts to her arm and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A witness to the attack, Adam Wilkerson, shared a graphic video and described the harrowing incident in a Reddit post. He wrote that his mother used a water bottle to distract the animal when it attacked and he was able to pull the woman to safety.
"My mom runs up and the only thing she can think to do is to push her water bottle through the hold of the cage near the jaguar. It takes the bait and unclasps the girl, but its claws are now still attached only to her sweater. At that moment I put my arm around the girls toro (sic) and pull her away."
The zoo will not euthanize the animal because of the attack saying that "when people do not respect the barriers, there's always a chance there might be a problem."
"We can promise you nothing will happen to our jaguar," Wildlife World Zoo Director Mickey Ollson said in a statement. "She's a wild animal, and there were proper barriers in place to keep our guests safe- not a wild animals fault when barriers are crossed. Still sending prayers to her and her family."