SAN DIEGO – A father who took his young son into an elephant habitat at the San Diego Zoo on Friday was arrested, officials said.
At one point, the father dropped the child, which NBC San Diego reported to be about 2 years old, but recovered the child and escaped when an “upset” elephant seemed to want to attack in the area of Asian and African elephants, said San Diego sergeant of the police Ariel Savage.
The man, who was not identified, was arrested on charges of endangering a child and raiding a zoo, the sergeant said.
No injuries were reported.
“Despite the multiple barriers,” the father “intentionally and illegally invaded a habitat,” said San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance spokesman Andrew James in a statement.
Matthew Passiglia said he was at a nearby cafe when he spotted the man and the child going through barriers, apparently to take a picture.
It seemed that the man stumbled and dropped the child, he said, before grabbing the child and running away. Then, he said, an elephant headbutted one of the barriers
Viewers watched and recorded videos on cell phones, said Passiglia.
“Security at the San Diego Zoo responded promptly to the incident,” said James, “but the guests had already left the habitat.”
Bill Feather contributed.