A 24-year-old woman from New Jersey has been charged with trespassing at the Cohanzick Zoo in Bridgeton after she climbed into a tiger enclosure, violating city ordinances and signs prohibiting fence climbing. The woman approached a tiger, attempting to pet it and causing the animal to exhibit agitated predatory behavior. The incident was caught on video and shared on social media, leading to the woman’s identification. The woman also trespassed in the bear enclosure on the same day. Cohanzick Zoo, New Jersey’s oldest zoo, offers free admission and houses two Bengal tigers, Rishi and Mahesha, who were born in North Carolina and arrived at the zoo in 2017. The woman is scheduled to appear in court at a later date to face the charges against her. The interaction with the tiger raised concerns from animal experts about the dangerous behavior and the potential harm to both the woman and the animal involved.
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