A young woman in her thirties narrowly escaped death after being clawed by a jaguar within reach of its cage at the Wildlife World Zoo near Phoenix, Arizona, USA, it has been revealed. Video footage shows the woman, whose identity has been withheld, writhing around the floor in pain after receiving a big, gaping gash to her left forearm. She had climbed over a protective barrier and was near enough to the predator’s cage so it could reach her.
Witness Adam Wilkerson told Fox 10 television: “I hear this young girl screaming: ‘Help, help, help’ … and the jaguar has clasped its claws outside the cage around her hand and into her flesh.”
His mother managed to distract the big cat by pushing a water bottle through its cage while Mr Wilkerson pulled the woman to safety.
She was later treated in hospital, her injuries were not life-threatening.
Will the jaguar be shot as a result?
Wildlife World Zoo has reassured people the jaguar will not be put down after responding to worried members of the public on Twitter.
The zoo released a statement, saying: “At no time was the animal out of its enclosure. The incident is being fully investigated.”
An accompanying tweet, alongside the statement, read: “Please understand why barriers are put in place. Sending prayers to the family tonight.”
Zoo spokeswoman Kristy Morcom told Fox 10 the barrier surrounded the entire exhibit, creating a buffer zone of several feet.
She said: “There is climbing involved. It’s not something that is easily done.
“These are wild animals and those barriers are put there for a reason.”
Jaguars’ terrifying jaws are so powerful they can bite through a crocodile skull or turtle shell.
The cats can measure up to six feet in length.
The woman later returned to the zoo to apologise after she had received treatment for her injuries.
Are jaguars endangered?
The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) says jaguars are a “near threatened” species, meaning they could be at risk of extinction in the future.
The large cats are not endangered right now but they are gradually being forced from their natural home in the Amazon as farmland threatens further deforestation.
WWF says the exact figures of jaguars in the world are not known “but we do know their numbers are dropping”.