A woman was left requiring medical treatment after she climbed over a barrier at a zoo in order to take a selfie and was mauled by a jaguar. The incident happened at Wildlife World Zoo near Pheonix, Arizona.
Bystanders shot mobile phone footage of the aftermath, with the women clearly traumatized by the incident. Viewer discretion is advised.
The Guardian reports that the jaguar had a hold of the woman in its claws, forcing the woman’s mother to attempts to distract the big cat by pushing a water bottle into its enclosure. After receiving treatment at a nearby hospital, the woman later returned to the zoo in order to apologize to staff.
A spokesman for Rural Metro Fire explained that the woman wanted either to photograph the animal or take a selfie, putting herself close enough to the cage that the animal could reach her.
Big cats are evidently dangerous animals but recent research has shown that selfies pose a much greater risk to human life, proven to be even more dangerous than sharks. As Fstoppers reported in October, selfies have killed 269 people in the last six years with drowning and transport the principal causes of death. Animal attacks sits close to the bottom of the list though attacks from crocodiles, alligators, and bears often make headlines, with photographers willfully ignoring warning signs and putting themselves at risk.
Lead image by IanZA.