A woman hopped into a tiger enclosure at a zoo and taunted the animal until it almost bit her.
The wild encounter at Cohanzick Zoo in New Jersey, was captured in a video released by the Bridgeton Police Department on Tuesday.
It shows the woman inside the enclosure fearlessly bending down in front of the tiger as the creature paces back and forth in front of her.
The big cat attempts to bite the woman, who pulls her hand away just in time.
She then calmly exits through a netted door, but also stops and poses as if she is being photographed, before jumping over a wooden barrier back into the public space.
‘A female at the Cohanzick Zoo went over the wooden fence at the tiger enclosure and began enticing the tiger almost getting bit by putting her hand through the wire enclosure,’ the police department wrote on Facebook.
‘We are asking if anyone recognizes the female in the video/photo.’
The offender had not been identified as of Thursday afternoon.
Police shared a photo on Facebook of a tiger laying down in the background behind a wooden fence with a sign that read, ‘DO NOT CLIMB OVER THE FENCE’ and ’24 hour surveillance’.
‘Visitors are reminded as per city ordnance 247-C, climbing zoo fences is prohibited,’ wrote the police department.
It was not clear exactly when the incident took place.
The social media post had more than 100 reactions and over 70 comments by Thursday.
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‘I’m glad the tiger was not harmed during the unauthorized visit !’ wrote one user.
Another user commented sarcastically: ‘I believe if they want to test the tiger they should be allowed.’
One user mentioned the ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ song.
It is not the first time a person has had a deliberate encounter with a wild cat at a zoo in the US recently.
In 2019, a woman climbed into a lion enclosure at the Bronx Zoo in New York and appeared to taunt the beast just a few feet away. The lion stood and watched the woman, who escaped unscathed.
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