A woman who crossed a barrier to take a selfie with a jaguar at an Arizona zoo was attacked by the big cat.
Eye-witness footage shows the woman on the ground with an injury to her forearm following the attack. Her injuries are considered non-life threatening.
She was seen crossing the barrier at the big cat’s enclosure, Wildlife World Zoo said in a statement.
“Please understand why barriers are put in place,” the zoo said in a Tweet. “Sending prayers to the family tonight.”
A man who was there with his family told local media that he heard a woman yelling for help. He ran to find the woman and saw her arm caught in the jaguar’s claws.
The jaguar let go of its grip after he distracted it with a bottle.
The incident happened before closing Saturday. Paramedics were called at the request of the family, the zoo stated on Twitter.
“At no time was the animal out of its enclosure,” the zoo said in a statement.
The incident is being fully investigated, the zoo also said.
This was not the first time the female jaguar hurt a park visitor.
“She had scratched a person once before when they crossed the barrier,” Wildlife World Zoo founder Mickey Ollson said.
“When people do not respect the barriers there’s always a chance that there might be a problem.”
