Injured woman apologizes to Arizona zoo after jaguar attack

A woman who was grabbed by a jaguar while reportedly attempting to take a selfie at an Arizona zoo has apologized for the incident, according to local reports.

Local outlet AZFamily.com, citing a zoo spokeswoman, reported the woman returned to the Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium and Safari Park in Litchfield Park, Arizona, near Phoenix on Sunday to meet with the owner. The woman said she loved the zoo and "feels horrible about the bad publicity the zoo is getting regarding the incident," spokeswoman Kristy Morcum told the outlet. She also reportedly apologized and admitted fault in the incident.

And, in a separate interview with CBS News, the woman said she wasn't "attacked," but instead called the incident a "crazy accident."

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The Washington Post reports the publicly unnamed woman, who is in her 30s, climbed over a barrier on Saturday to get closer to the jaguar's enclosure to get a photo. The animal reached out and swiped her arm with its paw, causing the woman to suffer non-life threatening lacerations, the Post reported. Paramedics were called at the request of the family, according to zoo officials.

The zoo said that it will not euthanize the jaguar, saying "there were proper barriers in place" to keep everyone safe.

"We can promise you nothing will happen to our jaguar," the zoo said in a tweet in response to concerned members of the public. "She's a wild animal and there were proper barriers in place to keep our guests safe- not a wild animals fault when barriers are crossed. Still sending prayers to her and her family."

The animal never left its enclosure, and the incident is being fully investigated, the zoo said.

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