The parents of a toddler injured by a wolf at a Pennsylvania zoo have been charged with child endangerment.
Cops said the 17 month-old was hurt while visiting the ZooAmerica North American Wildlife Park in Hershey Saturday, after managing to get into a restricted area near the wolf enclosure.
“During the incident, an unsupervised child squeezed through a small opening in a wooden barrier perimeter fence and entered a restricted area near the wolf exhibit, reaching the primary metal fence enclosure,” a statement from Derry Township Police Department said.
“The child was injured after they placed their hand through the metal fencing. 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.”
The toddler’s parents, 43-year-old Carrie Sortor and 61-year-old Stephen Wilson, were sitting on a bench around 30 feet away from the child during the incident, police said, adding that they appeared to be looking at their cell phones at the time.
Authorities claimed that they only looked up when they heard a commotion.
Both Sortor and Wilson have been charged with one count of endangering the welfare of children, the DTPD said.
DTPD Chief Garth Warner told WGAL 8 there are signs in the surrounding area advising parents to watch their children. “Obviously, they did not follow those instructions,” he said.
Police have appealed for anyone who saw the incident or filmed it to come forward.
A spokesperson for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts told WGAL the child’s injuries were minor and that the youngster did not enter the enclosure.
“A wolf approached and made contact with the child's hand,” the spokesperson said. “This type of response is consistent with natural animal behavior, and was not a sign of aggression.”
The spokesperson added that the well-being of their animals, and the safety of the people who come to see them, remain their “highest priorities.”
The 11-acre site is home to more than 200 animals native to North America, according to the Hershey website.
Three gray wolves live at the zoo, including a male wolf named Twister who was born in 2015, the ZooAmerica website says. Hazel and Freya, the two females who also live in the enclosure, were born in April 2019.
