Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Toddler falls into cheetahs' cage after being dangled by parents, say zoo officials

Zoo to pursue charge against parents after tragedy narrowly avoided

Andrew Buncombe
Sunday 12 April 2015 21:51 BST
0Comments
A toddler fell into the cheetah's enclosure at a Cleveland zoo
A toddler fell into the cheetah's enclosure at a Cleveland zoo

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A US zoo is to seek charges against the parents of a toddler who fell into a cheetah pen – after they allegedly dangled him over the enclosure.

Reports said tragedy was narrowly avoided at the weekend after the two-year-old boy fell into the exhibit at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. The cheetahs ignored the boy, whose parents climbed into the exhibit to get him out, zoo officials said.

“You could just hear the screams and all you could see was the adult that jumped in got the kid,” Michael Lurie, a visitor to the zoo who witnessed the incident, told WEWS-TV. “Then somebody pulled him out.”

The zoo planned to file child endangerment charges against the boy's parents on Monday, zoo officials said.

“Unfortunately, we have a number of eyewitness accounts that point to the strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,” said Christopher Kuhar, the zoo’s executive director. There has been no comment yet from the child’s parents.

Cleveland Fire Department spokesman Larry Gray told the Associated Press that the toddler was treated for bumps and bruises.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

0Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in