A 1-year-old boy slipped through a small opening in a wooden fence, reached into a wolf enclosure and was grabbed by one of the animals — all while his parents sat roughly eight to nine meters away, looking at their cellphones, police said.
Now those parents face misdemeanor charges of endangering the welfare of a child following the incident at ZooAmerica, located inside Hershey Park in Hershey, Pennsylvania. They are awaiting a preliminary hearing later this month, according to the Associated Press.
What Happened at the Wolf Exhibit After a Toddler Reached Into the Enclosure
The incident occurred just before noon on April 4. Police said the toddler passed through a small opening in a wooden perimeter fence and entered a restricted area near the wolf exhibit.
Once inside, the child reached a chain-link enclosure and placed their hand through the fence. A wolf approached and made contact with the child’s hand.
“From the injuries sustained, it appears as though one of the wolves in the enclosure instinctively and naturally grabbed onto the child’s hand with its mouth. Several bystanders intervened and helped pull the child away,” police said in a statement.
The child sustained minor, surface-level injuries.
The Zoo Says It Wasn’t an Attack on the Toddler
Zoo officials made a notable distinction about the wolf’s behavior: it was not aggressive.
“A wolf approached and made contact with the child’s hand. This was not a forceful or aggressive action, but rather a brief, investigatory behavior consistent with how wild canines interact with unfamiliar objects in their environment,” the zoo said.
The wolf remains in the exhibit and is up to date on vaccinations.
Why Prosecutors Decided to File Charges After the Toddler Reached Into the Wolf Enclosure
Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said charges were filed after review of the circumstances.
“We looked at a lot of factors — the age of the child, the circumstances, how diligent you have to be because it’s potentially dangerous,” Chardo told AP.
Evidence showed that the child’s parents both walked about eight to nine meters away from the child to a seating area with benches and appeared to be paying attention to their cellphones when they noticed what was happening shortly before noon Saturday, police said in a statement.
Derry Township Police Chief Garth W. Warner said the length of time the child was unattended is unclear.
“There are plenty of opportunities for a child of that age to hurt themselves on things,” Warner said. “Let alone, be left alone, essentially by themselves, where they could get themselves into a situation like this child did.”
What Makes This Toddler Wolf Enclosure Case Unusual
The charging decision hinged on a combination of factors: the child’s age, the proximity to a wild animal enclosure and the distance the parents put between themselves and a 1-year-old in a public setting with inherent risks.
The wolf’s reaction — described by the zoo as investigatory rather than predatory — likely spared the child from more serious harm. Still, prosecutors determined that the circumstances warranted misdemeanor charges against both parents.
The case raises a question familiar to any parent who has looked away for even a moment in a public space: how much supervision is enough? In this instance, law enforcement and prosecutors concluded that the answer, for a 1-year-old near a wolf enclosure, was more than what was provided.
The parents’ preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.
