Jaguar attack during selfie attempt at Arizona zoo a ‘crazy accident,’ woman says

A woman clawed Saturday by a jaguar, reportedly while trying to take a selfie at an Arizona zoo, calls it a “crazy accident,” CBS News reports.

The woman, in her 30s, has not been named by officials, who say she had crossed a concrete barrier at 6:40 p.m. for a selfie when a jaguar reached through a fence and clawed her arm, The Washington Post reported.

The incident took place at the Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium and Safari Park in Litchfield Park, Arizona, about 20 miles west of Phoenix, according to the publication.

The woman said she was not attacked by the jaguar and did not admit to crossing the barrier, but said she was unhappy that a video of the incident had become public, CBS News reported. She said she was grateful to other zoo visitors who rescued her.

Wildlife World Zoo officials said Sunday the woman had returned to the zoo and apologized for the incident, KTVK reported.

The woman “feels horrible about the bad publicity the zoo is getting regarding the incident,” spokeswoman Kristy Morcum said, according to the station. Morcum said the woman has “admitted fault” in the attack.

The zoo erupted in “pandemonium” during the attack, visitor Adam Wilkerson said, KNXV reported.

Wilkerson had been visiting with his family when someone dashed up yelling for help, CNN reported.

“I saw the other girl up against the fence with her arm caught in the jaguar’s claws,” Wilkerson said. “I could see the claws in her actual flesh.”

His mother distracted the jaguar by tossing a water bottle into its enclosure, KTVK reported. When the jaguar released the woman’s arm, Wilkerson pulled her away from the fence.

“She was lying on the ground screaming in agony,” Wilkerson said, according to the station. He posted a graphic video of the incident to Reddit.

“There’s no way to fix people crossing barriers,” said zoo director Mickey Ollson, KTVK reported. “That happens occasionally. And we put substantial barriers there and if people cross them, they can get in trouble.”

The jaguar, which is 4 to 5 years old, will not be euthanized because the incident “was not the animal’s fault,” Ollson said, KNXV reported. Zoo officials would “never harm an animal based on human behavior,” he said.

The incident will be investigated, USA Today reported.

The zoo has 600 exotic and endangered species, with more than 6,000 individual animals, according to its website.