A woman who climbed into a lion enclosure and taunted a large male lion at a zoo in New York put herself “in serious danger”, the zoo has said.
A video posted to Instagram shows the confused-looking lion checking out the woman as she waves her hands and dances at it.
The woman doesn’t appear to be scared of the animal what so ever, despite the incredible danger that she was in. Even onlookers heard in the video seem relaxed, as though this is entirely normal.
The man who filmed the video, Hernán Reynoso, told WNBC TV at first he thought the woman and her dancing were all part of some kind of exhibit.
But he quickly realised that was not the case.
“But when I see … she just was there, dancing, saying, ‘Hi,’ to the lion and everything and that was crazy,” Mr Reynoso said.
He reportedly stopped recording the incident when the lion roared, prompting him to pick up his young son and leave the area.
In a statement the zoo said: “This action was a serious violation and unlawful trespass that could have resulted in serious injury or death.