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File photo of a cheetah. ahisgett via Flickr/Creative Commons
United States
Child (2) falls into cheetah pit 'after mother dangled him over enclosure'
The young boy escaped serious injury.
A ZOO IN Cleveland, the United States, plans to press charges against the parents of a two-year-old child who fell into a cheetah enclosure after allegedly being dangled over the edge, local media report.
The boy – and his parents who jumped in to pull him to safety – escaped serious injury.
Cleveland.com reports that the zoo intends to press child endangerment charges, claiming the boy slipped out of his mother’s grasp and fell into the enclosure.
This is a drop of almost four metres.
The family escaped serious injury, as the dangerous animals were not startled by the incident.
The two-year-old was treated for minor leg injuries.
“The cheetahs made no attempt to interact with the child or his parents at any time,” Cleveland Metroparks Zoo director Chris Kuhar told Fox 8 News.
A witness told the station that those in the area heard a child screaming, and onlookers rushed to help.
The exhibit was closed following the incident.
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