Man arrested after hopping into alligator enclosure in Florida
A man has been arrested after he jumped into the alligator enclosure at Busch Gardens in Florida.
Here's the moment he leapt in with the dangerous predators:
20-year-old Jacob Pursifull is said to have jumped two fences to get in with the dangerous reptiles, putting his own life in danger, as well as – presumably – giving the alligators a bit of unnecessary stress, too.
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Police claim that Pursifull and two other people went to Busch Gardens on 1 June, before making their way to the gator habitat.
One of the people who he was with held the camera, whilst Pursifull himself climbed over the fences to get in with the alligators.
In a pretty unwise move, Pursifull then posted the video on a number of social media sites, which police say helped them to identify and locate him, before he was arrested on Monday (5 June).
In that video, the suspect can be heard to say ‘another wild Karen, crikey!’ whilst pointing towards the crowd.
A person in the crowd shouted at him to get out of the enclosure, whilst another told him it was very dangerous.
Yes, it certainly is.
And that sentiment was also echoed by the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation founder Vernon Yates, who said: "He is nothing that anybody should look at, ‘Wow, that was cool,’ because that wasn’t,
"That was stupid."
He continued: "There was no sign of animal respect there, because if he understood that if one of those animals would have grabbed him, they would’ve killed the animal, and I think that’s a big part that most people don’t understand, that when these kinds of animals hurt somebody, they become dead animals.”
The consequences for both the animals and the intruder could have been much worse, as Yates continued: "To the scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst, he’s an 11 on what he did wrong, and there’s no way you can say to love and respect animals, and you do something that stupid.”
The theme park said to Fox News that the intruder leapt two fences to get in, as well as ignoring a load of signs and barriers to get in.
They also said that the security and animal care teams quickly intervened and that no animals or people were harmed.
A statement for Busch Gardens read: "We are thankful to hear that the individuals involved in illegally entering one of our animal habitats recently have been arrested and are facing charges for their dangerous actions,
"The safety and well-being of our guests, ambassadors, and animals is a top priority, and we are very grateful to law enforcement, particularly the Tampa Police Department and their law enforcement partners, for their swift action."
Pursifull has been charged with theft of services, burglary, and trespassing.
Tom Wood