In a brazen act of boundary-defying bravado, an Ohio man named Noah Thomas is now facing a slew of felony charges after a video surfaced of him jumping into an elephant enclosure at the Pittsburgh Zoo. WPXI reported that the footage, which was posted to Thomas' Instagram account, captures him scaling a fence and coming face-to-face with one of the zoo's elephants on September 21st. The encounter quickly escalated as the elephant appeared to swing its trunk at him, prompting Thomas to hastily retreat over the fence.
Authorities did not seem to immediately apprehend Thomas despite the video gaining traction online. Instead, it wasn't until after zoo-goers reported the incident that he and a female companion, who had reportedly not purchased entry tickets, were escorted out by security. Per WPXI, the caption on the Instagram video read "Professional Gate Jumper - Almost Elephant Food", a clear indication of Thomas' intent to seemingly glorify the dangerous stunt.
Further investigation led to WTAE uncovering that around 25 onlookers, including both adults and children, were present at the time of the event, potentially putting more than just Thomas at risk. The charges laid against him include causing or risking a catastrophe, a serious allegation that reflects the potential gravity of the situation had the encounter taken a tragic turn.
The Pittsburgh Zoo declined to comment extensively on the ongoing legal matter, but confirmed that the issue is currently in the hands of the Pittsburgh Police and the District Attorney’s Office.
