New Jersey woman charged after vaulting zoo fence and ‘enticing’ tiger, police say

Zyair J. Dennis, 24, is now facing one count of defiant trespassing

A New Jersey woman has been charged after clambering into the tiger enclosure at a local zoo on August 18, beckoning one of the big cats to come closer, authorities announced Monday.

Zyair J. Dennis, 24, pulled a similar stunt at the Cohanzick Zoo’s bear enclosure the same day, according to the Bridgeton, New Jersey Police Department.

The zoo’s two tigers weigh some 500 pounds each.

Dennis is now facing one count of defiant trespassing, and was issued summonses for violating two city ordinances “covering general conduct of persons pertaining to climbing fences within the zoo,” Chief of Police Michael Gaimari Sr. said in a statement.

The investigation got underway on August 20, when city officials contacted the Bridgeton PD with bystander footage they had received of Dennis’ dangerous antics, according to the statement.

“The video and still photos show a person jumped over a fence and approached the caged enclosure of the tiger reaching into the cage before quickly pulling her hand out when the animal reacted aggressively,” it said.

The tigers at the Cohanzick Zoo in Bridgeton, New Jersey (Bridgeton Police Department)

In the clips, which Bridgeton police released to the public, Dennis can be seen “enticing” 7-year-old Mahesha, one of the zoo’s two Bengal tigers. Bridgeton police released video last week of the incident; zookeeper Avery Menear described the tiger’s behaviors during the extremely ill-advised encounter as “predatory.”

The Cohanzick Zoo received the tigers in 2017 as a donation from a North Carolina zoo, replacing a pair of white tigers that died two years earlier.

“In memory of those two tigers, Ganesha and Shiva, the zoo chose names for the cubs to honor them,” the zoo website says. “Former zoo coordinator Kelly Shaw explained that Mahesha means ‘great lord’ and is another way to say Shiva, and Rishi means ‘poet’ in Hindu, which is a connection to Ganesha, the name of the Hindu god known as the patron of arts, letters, and writing.”

Gaimari said the department’s social media postings “yielded instant responses… that led directly to the suspect’s identification.”

Last week, police posted on Facebook: “Visitors are reminded as per city ordnance [sic] 247-C, climbing zoo fences is prohibited.”

Dennis will appear in Bridgeton Municipal Court at an as-yet to be determined date.