No injuries were reported, but staff at the Milwaukee County Zoo still got a fright when a child entered an exhibit filled with animals, including vultures, this Monday, per multiple reports.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, zoo communications manager Megan O’Shea said the incident happened shortly before 3 p.m. in the Savannah Yard area of the zoo. That area is home to Southern Ground Hornbills, West African Black Crowned Cranes, Cinereous Vultures, Thomson’s Gazelles and American White Pelicans.
Both the Journal Sentinel and CBS 58 noted that videos allegedly showing the three-minute incident have been circulating on social media.
O’Shea said the child entered the habitat and a family member soon followed after him to help him get out. At the same time, zoo staff “enacted protocols, which included opening doors that allowed the impacted animals to leave,” she explained in an email cited by the Journal Sentinel. No people or animals were injured, O’Shea said.
FOX 6 Now said videos with tens of thousands of shares on social media show the boy chasing the Southern Ground Hornbills with a stick. CBS 58 shared a message from a man who identified himself as the boy’s father. In it, the man thanked the zoo staff and said that he regretted that the incident occurred.
“Our son is severely autistic, non verbal, and is also diagnosed with ADHD and epilepsy. Animals are his obsessions and The zoo is likely his most favorite place on earth,” said the message. “We as annual zoo pass holders visited dozens of times in his 13 years of life without incident.”
This time, the boy was accompanied by his grandmother and a caretaker while his parents were at home, the letter continued. It claimed that his grandmother figured out how to get in the exhibit and help him.
“We are animal lovers and are relieved that the animals were not hurt during the incident. I have personally reached out to the director of operations of the zoo as of this morning to personally apologize and see if there is any way we can help or make amends,” the message added. “In the time since the videos were posted, i responded to one of them trying to explain the situation and have since received messages wishing harm and death upon my son and my family.”
Per the Journal Sentinel’s report, the Milwaukee County Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums, with all its animal habitats meeting AZA standards.
CBS 58 cited Tracey Dolphin, director of animal management and health for the Milwaukee County Zoo, regarding the incident.
“We have staff all out in the park,” said Dolphin. “Seeing a guest in an animal's habitat is not normal, so once that person realized that, they radioed and that impacted our emergency protocols.”
While the animals in the habitat the boy managed to get into are not considered dangerous, Dolphin said, however, that any interaction with animals carries a potential risk. For example, those Cinereous Vultures stand up to 3 feet tall and have a wingspan measuring up to 10 feet across. They also have beaks “well-suited for feeding on tough material, such as sinew, dry skin, and muscle.”
“The zoo is still investigating what happened and how the child got into the habitat,” CBS 58 said. A little over a decade ago, a mother who dangled her child into a cheetah exhibit was charged with child endangerment, as NBC News reported on.
