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‘Worst idea ever’: woman jumps into zoo tiger enclosure

JUST days after a zookeeper was mauled to death by a tiger in Florida, another woman has jumped into a tiger enclosure — to retrieve her hat.

A WOMAN in Canada hopped over the safety fence of a tiger enclosure to retrieve her hat after she dropped it over the edge, reports The Sun.

Shocking footage shows the woman quickly grab the hat as a tiger paces around menacingly and lunges towards her.

The woman, who appears to be young, then runs off and climbs back to the viewing area of the zoo as the tiger looks up at her.

A man behind the camera can be heard saying: “What is going on? While another says: “That’s the worst idea ever”.

Ridiculous ... A woman jumped over a safety fence at a zoo in Toronto to retrieve a lost hat. The tiger was not amused. picture: YouTube
Ridiculous ... A woman jumped over a safety fence at a zoo in Toronto to retrieve a lost hat. The tiger was not amused. picture: YouTube
Quick getaway ... The woman jumps back over the fence as the tiger paces. Picture: YouTube
Quick getaway ... The woman jumps back over the fence as the tiger paces. Picture: YouTube

When she is back over the fence a fuming zoo visitor can be heard telling her repeatedly that she’s “a moron” and that she had set a bad example to kids watching.

Toronto Zoo spokeswoman Jennifer Tracey told CBC News: “It was very irresponsible of this individual to jump over the boardwalk and (she) could have easily injured herself by exciting the animal in this way.

“The situation could have been much worse.”

Gobsmacked ... The woman is confronted by zoo officials after the incident. Picture: YouTube
Gobsmacked ... The woman is confronted by zoo officials after the incident. Picture: YouTube
‘Irresponsible’ ... Zoo officials slammed the woman for provoking the tiger, saying the situation ‘could have been much worse’. Picture: YouTube
‘Irresponsible’ ... Zoo officials slammed the woman for provoking the tiger, saying the situation ‘could have been much worse’. Picture: YouTube

The video has surfaced just days after a zookeeper dubbed the “Tiger Whisperer” died after she was attacked by a rare species of the big cat.

Stacey Konwiser was attacked by a 13-year-old Malayan tiger and died about an hour later.

Stacey, who worked at Palm Beach Zoo in Florida, was working with the animal in an area off-limits to the public.

Tragic ... Just days ago, zookeeper, Stacey Konwiser, was killed by a 13-year-old male tiger in an enclosure at a Florida zoo. Picture: Brianna Soukup/Palm Beach Post via AP
Tragic ... Just days ago, zookeeper, Stacey Konwiser, was killed by a 13-year-old male tiger in an enclosure at a Florida zoo. Picture: Brianna Soukup/Palm Beach Post via AP

This story originally appeared in The Sun

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/worst-idea-ever-woman-jumps-into-zoo-tiger-enclosure/news-story/13d518e9cd2bf7b052e2708b01ad3461