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Woman sues zoo for not stopping her when she put her hand inside a Lion cage

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M

Majine

Banned
Not qualified for Darwin Award, but I hope she get an honorable mention.

Examiner said:
A woman sticks her hand in the lion cage of the zoo she was visiting, and the lion she decided to pet bit off her finger. Now, this woman sued the zoo for not stopping her from putting her hand in the lion cage in the first place. The Christian Post shared this woman's story on August 1.

Renae Ferguson took her daughter on a visit to the Sunrise Side Nature Trail and Exotic Park last weekend, and she decided she wanted to get up and close with one of the lions at the zoo. She decided to go to the secured area of the zoo, and she asked if she could reach in and pet one of the giant lions. The staff told her no, but she decided to reach her hand in anyway.

She started to pet the giant creature, but it was only a moment before things changed. The lion snapped, and he bit off her middle finger. She saw her finger laying on the ground between her and the lion. Ferguson said the following about the incident in an interview with the local news:

"I put my hand down there to pet it and it ripped my finger. I was in total shock. I really didn't believe that was part of my finger laying on the ground."
The woman also said that when zoo staff found out about the incident that they told her to lie about what happened. However, the staff at Sunrise Side Nature Trail and Exotic Park tells a different story. Staff warned the woman about sticking her hand in the cage. Owners did release a statement about the incident. The emailed statement said the following:

"The lady went into the security area and was told by the guide to get back and the lady stated she wanted to touch the lion and continued, against the guide's warning, to put her finger inside the fence and the lion nipped the end of her finger."
Tina Dobson, Ferguson's daughter, also spoke out about the bite, and she said that she would like to see more precautions taken to protect people from the animals at the zoo. However, her mother went into a security area where visitors are not allowed. Zoos often have areas that are clearly marked for staff only. The woman claims zoo staff gave her full access to the lion's cage, according to The Daily Caller.

The Phoenix Zoo has these areas clearly marked off. A ditch that runs around the lion perch separates the lion exhibit. There is no way a person could reach in and try to pet one of the giant cats. The tiger cage is set up in a similar manner. Zoos lock up animals like lions and tigers for a reason. They are dangerous creatures, and they can act without warning. Ferguson learned that quickly on her own, and she will never try to reach into a lion cage again she said.

It is too late though. The woman lost her finger due to her own actions. The owners of the zoo did plan to speak out about the incident at a press conference earlier this week, but the owners of the zoo cancelled the press conference. The zoo now has a lawyer, and they are not speaking to the media anymore.

The incident could be blamed on the woman entirely. However, her statement about the zoo telling her not to talk about what happened could put the zoo at fault. The zoo denies this claim. A judge will need to decide who is at fault here. The fact that this woman lost her finger is tragic, but a lion is a wild animal. One does not pet it as they do a common house cat.
Click to expand...
 
A

Alienous

Member
"The lady went into the security area and was told by the guide to get back and the lady stated she wanted to touch the lion and continued, against the guide's warning, to put her finger inside the fence and the lion nipped the end of her finger."
Click to expand...

...

If someone were mentally ill, I might not expect them to heed a polite warning.

She got what she deserved, but this one is tricky.
 
I

Into

Member
Dont just sue the zoo, sue Pixar and Disney for telling you that lions are fun animals who sing and dance to catchy tunes.

Proceed to lose all these lawsuits and be in great debt, that way you lost your finger and your money
 
S

Stet

Banned
Chances are this woman's middle finger would have been an integral part of her lifestyle so I bet it's worth at least a hundy.
 
C

chuckddd

Fear of a GAF Planet
tumblr_mfawpbo4vn1rmmcg4o1_250.gif


Dawwwww. It's so friendly. Let's pet it.
 
Nealand Liquor

Nealand Liquor

Member
Lol let me guess, America?
This current era of zero personal accountability is becoming more and more absurd everyday. My god this woman is an absolute tool.
 
S

Skilotonn

xbot xbot xbot xbot xbot
Alienous said:
...

If someone were mentally ill, I might not expect them to heed a polite warning.

She got what she deserved, but this one is tricky.
Click to expand...

There's nothing tricky about it.

Common sense would tell you no, and the guide saying no is the confirmation that common sense was right.
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
She's lucky the lion only got one finger instead of her whole hand. I will never understand why people crawl past security zones, over/under fences and the like to fuck with wild animals and then complain that the zoo isn't taking enough precautions.

3N16MA said:
Give her full access to the Lion cage for one hour.
Click to expand...

Dashcon 2015?
 
eot

eot

Banned
She's a dumbass, but the lion cage shouldn't allow for petting.

edit: seems like it was all dumbassery actually
 
A

Alienous

Member
Skilotonn said:
There's nothing tricky about it.

Common sense would tell you no, and the guide saying no is the confirmation that common sense was right.
Click to expand...

I don't know.

As a member of staff I'm not so sure you can take a "Well, it's your funeral" approach to these happenings. There are mentally handicapped adults out there.

Ah, I don't know. I think it's tricky.
 
M

massoluk

Banned
She's dumb for trying to pet the lion in a cage, but let's be fair the picture of the cage at private zoo doesn't look so secured. I wouldn't be surprise if everything she said about employee letting her petting the lion is true. There is picture of people taking photo really really close to a lion cage.

http://www.*****************/news/a...s-zoo-losing-finger-tried-pet-caged-lion.html

edit: wow, daily m blocked?
http://www.wnem.com/story/26144344/woman-loses-part-of-finger-during-lion-attack
 
G

GrantDaNasty

Member
A woman sticks her hand in the lion cage of the zoo she was visiting, and the lion she decided to pet bit off her finger. Now, this woman sued the zoo for not stopping her from putting her hand in the lion cage in the first place. The Christian Post shared this woman's story on August 1.

Renae Ferguson took her daughter on a visit to the Sunrise Side Nature Trail and Exotic Park last weekend, and she decided she wanted to get up and close with one of the lions at the zoo. She decided to go to the secured area of the zoo, and she asked if she could reach in and pet one of the giant lions. The staff told her no, but she decided to reach her hand in anyway.
Click to expand...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE9S3zQx_2k
 
D

dofry

That's "Dr." dofry to you.
Why did I read this? Now my brain doesn't function normally anymore.
A zoo should have protection for the animals from stupid people.
 
3

3bdelilah

Banned
I have only read the title and this just screams 'Murica. Am I right or am I wrongfully prejudiced?

Will read the rest when I'm home.
 
H

hipbabboom

Huh? What did I say? Did I screw up again? :(
massoluk said:
She's dumb for trying to pet the lion in a cage, but let's be fair the picture of the cage at private zoo doesn't look so secured. I wouldn't be surprise if everything she said about employee letting her petting the lion is true. There is picture of people taking photo really really close to a lion cage.

http://www.*****************/news/a...s-zoo-losing-finger-tried-pet-caged-lion.html

edit: wow, daily m blocked?
http://www.wnem.com/story/26144344/woman-loses-part-of-finger-during-lion-attack
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about starting a campaign to put 50 feet high fences all along every road in the country to prevent people from walking into traffic. sidewalks don't seem secure enough given there's nothing preventing people from doing just that.
 
A

AtomskEater

Member
massoluk said:
She's dumb for trying to pet the lion in a cage, but let's be fair the picture of the cage at private zoo doesn't look so secured. I wouldn't be surprise if everything she said about employee letting her petting the lion is true. There is picture of people taking photo really really close to a lion cage.

http://www.*****************/news/a...s-zoo-losing-finger-tried-pet-caged-lion.html

edit: wow, daily m blocked?
http://www.wnem.com/story/26144344/woman-loses-part-of-finger-during-lion-attack
Click to expand...

Is that really a pic of the lion exhibit? The article mentions a "no visitors" area and a pit around the exhibit so that people can't reach in.

The zoo does indeed need to bolster security if so, but I still have no sympathy for the woman. It's a poor choice to stick your hand in a lion's cage even if you can get right next to it.
 
Y

YoungHav

Banned
Probably rushes to the polls to happily vote against her own interests. whatup AZGOP!

I'd be so mad if I was the judge assigned to this case.
 
P

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
AtomskEater said:
Is that really a pic of the lion exhibit? The article mentions a "no visitors" area and a pit around the exhibit so that people can't reach in.

The zoo does indeed need to bolster security if so, but I still have no sympathy for the woman. It's a poor choice to stick your hand in a lion's cage even if you can get right next to it.
Click to expand...

Renae Ferguson took her daughter on a visit to the Sunrise Side Nature Trail and Exotic Park last weekend, and she decided she wanted to get up and close with one of the lions at the zoo. She decided to go to the secured area of the zoo,
Click to expand...

Yeah, sounds like it was a secure area and the lion was in a holding cell or something like that.
 
G

GabDX

Banned
The only reason the zoo told her to lie about the incident was to stop her from telling the whole world how stupid she is.
 
E

EatinOlives

Member
Imagine the genuine ignorance of going through life with the legitimate belief that it's perfectly OK to pet a lion. All of the elementary school education, all of the documentaries, all of the general knowledge completely absent from your brain as you barrel past security with your hand reaching out thinking "this is perfectly logical behavior".

Imagine the realm of possibilities of other things you need to be completely ignorant of for this behavior to cross your mind. Does she also think it's OK to open the emergency exit in the middle of an airplane flight? Will she one day jump out of a moving car to avoid parking it?
 
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