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Cleveland Zoo Cheetah Pit: 2 Year Old Survives


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It's getting national attention from many major news sources (Fox News, MSNBC, CNN, Huffington Post, etc.), so hopefully other parents will think twice before doing stupid things like this. I'm glad to see the zoo taking such a serious stance on this.

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None of the cats approached him!

Often times, of the big cats, the Cheetahs tend to be more "docile" (term used loosely as they can have an attitude) compared to lions or tigers. Now if you go around a cheetah (or a lion, or a tiger or even a bobcat or a serval) just making a bunch of high pitched noises then well....good luck as high pitched noises to them is a distress call at times. Go to Lunch?

Faerie wench, who has witnessed bobcats and servals go into predatory mode just by hearing a crying human baby on the television before

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People make mistakes.

As of right now, given her & the father's reaction of immediately jumping into the enclosure, there is no reason to believe this is anything but an innocent (and INCREDIBLY stupid) mistake.

We have all made boneheaded decisions at some point, especially dealing with kids. Difference being our mistake(s) typically don't make national headlines.

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I remember a couple years ago after another incident of a child ending up in a zoo enclosure, that someone (who works in a zoo) mentioned on another message board I frequent that it is not uncommon for parents to lift small children up onto the tops of protective barriers to sit or stand so they can "see the animals".

It's a real problem for zoos: to figure out ways to keep people and animals safe; and let patrons see the animals they came to see; and save people from their own stupidity. For the final part, it often takes more than one "layer" of barriers between people and animals.

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That is an inexcusable mistake.

No it's not.

Dumb? Certainly.

Inexcuseable? Other than dropping the child with malicious intent, it is a dumb mistake.

Let it be a learning experience for others.

"Inexcusable" suggests the mother should lose her rights as a parent and at this point the punishment does not fit the crime.

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If you're dumb enough to lift your child over a railing and dangle them over an enclosure with animals that could very easily kill the kid if the fall doesn't that shows such a severe lack of common sense that I don't think she deserves her kid(s). That person is completely F'en stupid.

I'm not perfect but I'm obviously not dumb enough to make a mistake to that level.

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Obvious solution: Make the protective barrier transparent, so that small children don't need to see over the barrier. Lexan bulletproof plastic would be perfect.

Am I missing something here?

No you're not. That's sort of what the Cincinnati Zoo has done with their Cat Canyon exhibit:

kids-with-tiger-Crissi-Lanier.jpg

(Image from the Cat Canyon blog: http://blog.cincinnatizoo.org/2014/08/01/a-roaring-success/kids-with-tiger-crissi-lanier/)

More info on the exhibit: http://cincinnatizoo.org/plan-your-visit/exhibits/cat-canyon/

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Obvious solution: Make the protective barrier transparent, so that small children don't need to see over the barrier. Lexan bulletproof plastic would be perfect.Am I missing something here?

That's basically what the Indianapolis zoo uses on a lot of their exhibits. Siegfried & Roy Secret Garden has literally multiple barriers when viewing the big cats including really tall fencing. Only thing you have to worry about at the Secret Garden is when one of the cats decide they want to claim you as their property... so you run away when a tail is raised your direction as they got good aim right through the fences.

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