Saint Louis Zoo seeking charges against man who climbed fence into tiger enclosure

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - Saint Louis Zoo officials are looking to press charges against a man who climbed the fence of the tiger enclosure at the Big Cat Country exhibit Saturday.

The man was seen climbing over a barrier fence at the Big Cat Country exhibit on Saturday. A zoo visitor captured the moment on video.

“So there’s a guy in the tiger enclosure, and he says that he works here, but I don’t think that he does,” the visitor said in a viral video posted to TikTok.

The zoo has not spoken on camera since Saturday’s incident. In a statement to First Alert 4, the zoo said it is deciding “what modifications might need to be made so that similar situations don’t happen in the future.”

On Monday, Drone 4 captured two people who appeared to be zoo staff taking photos and measuring the rock where the man was seen climbing out of the exhibit. The two people measured the top of the rock to the top of the net fence, and also measured from the ground to the top of the rock.

Saint Louis Zoo declined to discuss specific safety measures they’re considering. First Alert 4 spoke with zoo designer and architect Pat Janikowski, who has 39 years of experience in designing zoos, safari parks, and exhibits across the world. Janikowski says zoo safety involves many proactive safety measures, but that you can’t anticipate everything that could happen at any given exhibit.

“It is kind of a reactive thing and you kind of hope it doesn’t happen at your zoo,” said Janikowski.

Janikowski reviewed the video of the man climbing the fence and said the fencing appears to meet legal standards, but recommends that the fence should likely be raised after Saturday’s incident.

“Not knowing the exact situation, it may be a spot where you have to raise the fence. I would do something in front of that to maybe stop them,” Janikowski said. “You try to minimize that desire to want to go in.”

Janikowski says designing zoos to be safe can be difficult and requires weighing the needs of the animals, zoo guests, and zoo staff

“It’s just really tough. I mean, it keeps you on your toes, that’s why I’ve been doing it for so long,” Janikowski said.

The Saint Louis Zoo is looking to press charges against the man. First Alert 4 reached out to the St. Louis Police Department to learn more about the man who was arrested. A spokesperson with the department says the man isn’t identified yet, as no charges have been filed. The investigation remains ongoing and the man is not in SLMPD custody.