We have yet another tough case of how to handle a parent who seems devoid of basic sense, let alone basic instincts. The mother reportedly dangled her two-yera-old boy over a railing at a cheetah pit and then accidentally dropped him. Fortunately, the cheetahs did not attack but the boy’s leg was hurt.
An adult reportedly jumped into the pit and retrieved the toddler as people screamed. The Cleveland Fire Department said that the mother was holding another child when the boy fell.
The zoo closed the cheetah exhibit for the remainder of the day and said it would press charges against the boy’s mother for endangering his welfare.
Unfortunately, it is actions like this mother’s action that has prompted zoos to put additional barriers between observers and animals. The lowest common demoninator tends to drive safety measures, which can increase the distance or barriers for people to see these animals.
The question now becomes whether this should be charged as criminal endangerment and what should happen in terms of custody. As frustrating as it is to see such moronic conduct (and I have personally seen the same behavior at zoos), this can be a brief moment of stupidity as a mother is managing two struggling kids. It is not like the idiots who taunted a tiger in San Francisco until the tiger attacked. A criminal charge could result in limitations or even denial of custody for her children. I, like many, feel anger at reading about such senseless conduct involving children, but I would like to know more about how clear it was that the mother was dangling the child over the railing. It is a question of stupidity versus criminality.
What do you think?
Oh, the cheetahs didn’t eat the kid??? Hmmm. That makes me think of Irish Poems!!! Oh this is a really good one!!!
Sheeesh, Tots!!!
An Irish Poem by Squeeky Fromm
The mother, she raised quite a din!
When her poor little toddler fell in
The cheetah exhibit.
But they didn’t get it
Which proves that “cheetahs never win!”
Squeeky Fromm
Girl Reporter
Not having seen what the cheetah pit, itself, looked like, including the type of barrier that existed surrounding it, I’m going to assume that the pit was not constructed in such a way that provided easy access. If this child fell in, I will again make the assumption that the mother was grossly negligent in allowing a two-year old to have the opportunity to land in a cheetah pit at the zoo. It was takes some real effort, on the part of the mother, to place her child in such a dangerous position. The barriers are placed there for good reason, so bypassing them is no easy task. It takes a real effort to do so. Certain accidents are almost impossible to foresee. This, however, seems a little more sinister.
What do you think?
I think that there is no cure for stupid. Somebody is an idiot in this scenario and it isn’t the kid.
Lucky it was Cheetahs, not Hyenas or Bengal Tigers. Kudos to the whoever jumped in to the enclosure to gather up the kid.
As for the case itself, how about chastising the mother and give her distasteful misdemeanor community service as a penalty?
Still doesn’t cure stupid, but might deter it in the future. Who the flip knows?
I think this is an act of stupidity, not criminality, nor do I think that based on this incident alone should her children be removed from her care. I presume that CPS will get involved, unless they only care about children walking to and from the park alone, that is. A solid evaluation will determine whether this is really a sign of more than just momentary idiocy.
I agree with Paul C. Schulte. No video available. No interview with the Mom here. Who reportedly reported her as dangling a child over a pit? Was she swinging the child by its armpits over the cheetahs? Or did she plop the two year old onto the fence railing with one arm, legs dangling, while trying to stop the second child from climbing on the railing and lost control of the situation? I would have to know more before I pass judgement.
I raised seven kids.
I am sure the mother did not intend to drop the child.
I’m guessing there was some sort of sign saying to keep back behind the railing or fence and she violated that clear warning..
Maybe they need to be more specific for the terminally stupid and have a sign warning not to dangle your living children over a pit of predators.
DBQ – my understanding is the mother had two kids with her and had one in her arms when the other went into the cheetah pit. Maybe those nice people from Korea will do a animated version for us. I am having trouble with the visual.
I agree. Reckless endangerment. Anymore, though, almost every parenting technique, that was considered normal, is now considered dangerous or criminal. Remember the people who were charge with child neglect for letting their children actually walk home from a park?
This mother should be monitored to determine if her stupidity and actual child endangerment is a 24/7 condition or if this was just a one off.
Funny anecdote: Years ago I was at the SF Zoo at the Gibbon exhibit. There was just a small iron railing about 3 feet from the edge of the Gibbon cage and a sign saying to stay behind for your own safety. There was a mother with a kid about 5 or 6 years old who insisted on playing on the railing, doing flips on it and trying to get up close to the cage. You know that Gibbons have very very long arms?
People were telling the woman to watch her kid. She was not really paying attention to him and just giving him warnings without any real meaning. “Tommy stop that. Tommy don’t do that. Tommy blah blah blah”. Little Tommy was teasing and tormenting the Gibbon and annoying the heck out of the rest of us.
So…he gets just a bit too close to the cage and the Gibbon sitting on the bottom near the bars, put down her baby and reached through. Snatched up little Tommy with one arm. Stuck the other one through and spanked the brat. Hard. Mom is screaming. Tommy is screaming, We are all in shock. The Gibbon gave him a good spanking. Shoved the kid backwards and then retrieved her baby and gave the mom a good hard look as if to say……”SEE…..this is how you do it, stupid.”
Tommy is crying, mom is freaking out and the rest of us are laughing our butts off.
That was a great day at the zoo.
😀
Some states allow children to participate in motorcycle and cart racing so would the same standard apply? Could be more dangerous than NASCAR races and can result in serious injury, paralysis or even death.
Need a competent psychiatric evaluation of that mother first.
Ok. Here is a question. Who was the singer/composer for the song called: Watch Out For The Cheetah?
Or was it “Cheater”?
By the way the guy pronounced it, I always thought he was saying Cheetah. But the other dogs in the dogpac say he was singing “Cheater”.
If there is a move to remove the child from custody of dumb mom then she should assert that she thought the lyrics said Cheater, not Cheetah, so that she was not forewarned.
There was an incident in Saint Louis at their fabulous Zoo where a parent let a kid find or fall his way into a lion and tiger pit. I think that netting would be an immediate stop gap. You could have a sign at the zoo at the entrance which says: No Dumb Girls Allowed. Or, No Dumb Guys or Gals Allowed With Brats.
This is reckless endangerment and should be charged as such. As part of the probation, an evaluation to insure this was just the moment of incredibly poor judgment to which JT alluded. If it was, then a years supervision. If the evaluation shows this is pathological, then appropriate court ordered treatment. This seems like a fairly easy one to me. She criminally endangered her kids life, just like she would have if she drove drunk speeding down a street.
Large-acreage zoos with a monorail protects people and is more humane to the animals as well.
Didn’t Michael Jackson do something like this with one of his kids?
Is she a Hillary supporter?
More parents should make donations to the feeding of big cats in zoos like this. It would not only help the zoos, but reduce expenses for the parent for years.
I think a tubal ligation would be sufficient.
Paul
This is an interesting example where parental responsibilities and rights collide with those of society. On the one hand the woman, obviously missing some cerebral working parts, is not a criminal and if this is an isolated instance, not necessarily a threat to her children. But then if she is a threat to her children, society does have the right and responsibility to intervene.
The mother should be ‘interviewed’, educated as to what can happen when parents are negligent and/or cavalier in their care for their children. If it is a one time thing then it should not be attached to her for the rest of her life. If it is a pattern, perhaps she should be made to connect with programs that can educate her as to the dangers of negligence.
What comes to mind are the many gun related accidents involving children who stumble upon or find their parents firearms. These parents should be charged.
She was criminally stupid which is different than being a stupid criminal. Maybe some basic parenting classes, including watching how predator animals kill and eat prey, along with a fine for any lost revenue or additional zoo services would be enough. After all, charging this clueless, careless, mother with a crime won’t produce any benefit to her, her toddlers or society.
You are right we can’t criminalize every act. Are you stupid,(not you Jonathan Turley) but negligence should be reason enough. A Cheetah cage with Cheetahs that kill and eat. She should and hopefully with be charged with a crime….
Cheetahs have a long history of living with humans as pets. There is no reason to think the cheetahs would attack the child. Now I don’t approve of this behavior, but it is not my kid.
Really Mr. Schulte? Do you have children? I’ll meet you in the middle though, how about mom gets dropped into the cheetah pit?
surimike – I raised 5 kids.
I am sure the mother did not intend to drop the child. Children do get squirmy though. We cannot criminalize every act.