Naked man jumps into Bronx Zoo reptile pit
nynewsday.com
BY SUMMIE HAZLEWOOD AND ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
Staff Writers
November 12, 2004, 6:45 PM EST
An apparently emotionally disturbed man stripped naked and jumped into an exhibit with two young caimans at the Bronx Zoo Friday afternoon, police said.
The man, whose name was not released, was intent on interacting with the alligator-like reptiles, reaching for them while sitting on a rock as stunned police officers -- who rushed there from a zoo substation -- looked on.
But before he could make contact with the reptiles a zoo worker slid a plywood board in front of them, preventing the caimans -- each about four feet long -- from reaching the man.
"He was fine physically," one zoo worker said of the man. "Mentally, I'm not so sure."
Zoo workers drained the pool the caimans frolicked in, then Emergency Service Unit officers pulled the man out.
He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center for observation.
Linda Corcoran, a spokeswoman for the zoo, said in a statement that there were no other visitors in the World of Darkness at the time of the 1:30 p.m. incident. The exhibit re-opened at 2:15 p.m.
"Because of the quick response by the Bronx Zoo and the NYPD, there were no injuries to the intruder or the caiman," she said.
Caimans are members of the alligator family and can grow as long as 9 feet, though most males peak at about 7 feet and most females peak at about 4 to 5 feet.
Antoine Yates, the Harlem man who made headlines last year for keeping a 400-pound tiger in his apartment, also kept a 3-foot caiman as a pet.
It was not clear how long the man had been in the zoo. He took his clothes off inside the World of Darkness, tossing them to the ground near the caiman exhibit.
He gained access to the exhibit by scaling a handrail and a five-foot glass barrier.
Copyright © 2004, Newsday, Inc.
