New Jersey

Woman nearly loses hand taunting tiger at New Jersey zoo

No injuries were reported, but this one got pretty close to becoming ugly; authorities are asking for help identifying her

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Authorities are looking for a woman seen on camera hopping a fence and taunting a tiger at a New Jersey zoo to the point where she nearly got herself bit sticking her hand through the wire enclosure, officials say.

According to police in Cumberland County's Bridgeton, the woman was visiting the Cohanzick Zoo, which was established in 1934 and bills itself as the Garden State's first zoo, when she began enticing the tiger.

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Video shows her leaning over, inches from the beast, one hand holding the enclosure — fingers poking through — as the tiger passes madly on the other side of the fence.

At one point, the woman leaps back from the fence as the tiger jumps directly at her. She eventually turns around and walks off, hopping back over the fence as a seemingly very frustrated tiger stews in its enclosure, video shows.

Anyone with information on the woman in the video is asked to call 856-451-0033 ext. 0. Tips can also be submitted anonymously online with the Bridgeton Police Department.

A sign on the fence notes it is against city ordinance to climb over the tiger enclosure fence. It also says the area is under 24-hour surveillance. The video shared by police didn't have audio, so it wasn't clear if anything was said.

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