An Arizona woman who was mauled by a jaguar admits that she was at fault for the attack but says that the Wildlife World Zoo needs to move their fences back to prevent future attacks. The woman, who was only identified by her first name, Leanne, explained that she was walking by the enclosure and noticed the jaguar pressed up against the fence and decided to take a selfie with the big cat in the background.
As she leaned over the three-foot barrier, the jaguar reached out through the fence, which is set just four feet back from the wall, and swiped at her arm.
"I was in the wrong for leaning over the barrier, but I think the zoo should consider moving their fence back."
She pointed out that another man was attacked by the same jaguar last year.
"Anybody can reach out. I'm not the first, and if they don't move the fence, I'm probably not going to be the last," Leanne said.
After Jeff Allan was attacked last year, he hired lawyers hoping to get the zoo to set the fences farther back but told ABC15 that the case never went to court.
"I didn't even want money. All my wife and I wanted was... I mean a kid could cross over this barrier if he wanted to. If my 3-year-old grandson wanted to cross over this barrier he could do it."
The zoo issued a statement saying their barriers meet federal guidelines and that "safety pertaining to this exhibit as well as throughout the entire park because that is our biggest concern."
While Leanne believes the zoo needs to make changes to ensure that another attack does not happen, she apologized to zoo officials and told them that she "feels horrible about the bad publicity the zoo is getting regarding the incident."