LITTLE ROCK (KFSM) – A 3-year-old fell into the jaguar exhibit at the Little Rock Zoo on Friday (Oct. 10) around 10:45 a.m., according to a news release from the zoo.
The Little Rock Police Department came to the zoo after reports came in of the child falling, officials said.
The 3-year-old was injured from the fall, and zoo staff immediately called for help over the radio. More staff arrived and used a fire extinguisher to keep the jaguars away from the child, the release states.
The fire extinguisher successfully repelled the jaguars while a ladder was lowered into the exhibit for another worker to climb down and rescue the child, according to the release.
The child was conscious and responded to the worker who climbed in to help, the release states.
After climbing out of the exhibit with the 3-year-old, the worker turned over the child to the mother and father. The three of them were then taken to the zoo’s back gate entrance via golf cart so the child could be placed in an ambulance, according to the release.
The 3-year-old was sent to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, KTHV reported.
Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with the child and the family. The safety of our citizens is of paramount value and our staff followed training procedures on rescuing the child and were able to respond quickly and efficiently and work with emergency personnel. A full investigation into the incident is being conducted.”
