No security changes at L.A. Zoo after woman hops elephant fence
The Los Angeles Zoo said it had no plans to increase security at the elephant exhibit a day after a determined visitor climbed over multiple barriers and petted the pachyderms.
The enclosure that separates the elephants from visitors is surrounded by multiple obstacles throughout the 6-acre space, including fences, ditches, a pool and shrubbery, said Jason Jacobs, a spokesman for the zoo.
That was apparently not enough to stop one woman from climbing into the elephant pen Tuesday.
The woman, whose name was not released, came face to face with the elephants after she scaled the public barrier, walked through tall bushes and climbed another fence.
“It was an isolated incident of extraordinary circumstances,” Jacobs said. “This woman made a conscious decision to leave the zoo pathway.”
The incident was captured on video by another visitor at the zoo.
-- Angel Jennings, Los Angeles Times
Photo: Tina is one of three elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo, where a woman hopped barriers to pet the pachyderms Tuesday. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times