Man Mauled By Tiger At Bronx Zoo Gets Charged For Trespassing

There are many reasons why jumping into a tiger’s den is a bad idea. David Villalabos found out most of those reasons earlier this week when he did just that at the Bronx Zoo. The 25-year-old man was mauled by a tiger and is now facing criminal trespassing charges.

ABC reports that Villalabos is currently in stable condition at Jacobi Hospital. When the 25-year-old gets the OK to leave the hospital, he’ll have to hobble on down to the court house to stand before a judge.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne told the NY Post:

“We anticipate arresting David Villalobos on a trespassing complaint by Bronx Zoo authorities later today or early next week.”

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that Villalabos was not drunk at the time and that there is no indication that he’s mentally unstable. According to Kelly, Villalabos just made a stupid decision and should face criminal charges.

Kelly said:

“This was a foolish thing to do. Those animals deserve to be left alone.”

After the incident, Villalobos said that he jumped into the Tiger’s Den because “he wanted to be one with the tiger.”

Villalabos suffered several injuries during the incident but zoo director Jim Breheny insists that the tiger did nothing wrong.

Breheny said:

“When someone is determined to do something harmful to themselves, it’s very hard to stop that… The tiger did nothing wrong.”