Man Scales Animal Enclosure At Cleveland Zoo

CLEVELAND — A man climbed an animal enclosure fence at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and attempted to pet a snow leopard, according to police.

The man has been taken into custody, according to WKYC. He was trying to scale the mesh fence enclosing the snow leopards, in the Asian Highlands portion of the zoo. He was unable to get into the enclosure.

No one was hurt during the incident on Sunday afternoon, Cleveland Metroparks police said.

The man was seen trying to pet a snow leopard and then filming it on his cell phone, according to WKYC.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has installed several layers of barriers to keep visitors out of animal enclosures, a zoo spokesperson told News 5.

The Cleveland Metroparks Zoo reopened to the public on June 17. During the COVID-19 shutdown of the park, guests were only able to drive along the exhibits. Visitors are now able to roam freely through much of the park.