Authorities in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, say the parents of a toddler injured at a zoo inside Hersheypark are now facing child endangerment charges.
Police said the incident happened shortly before noon on Saturday at ZooAmerica. According to investigators, the child’s parents had moved about 25 to 30 feet away to a bench area and appeared to be looking at their phones when they realized the toddler had wandered into a restricted space near the wolf exhibit.
Officials said the child slipped through a small gap in a wooden perimeter fence and reached the chain-link enclosure around the wolves. After the toddler put a hand through the fence, one of the animals bit or grabbed it in what police described as a natural instinctive reaction. Bystanders stepped in and helped pull the child away.
The parents, who are from Lititz, Pennsylvania, have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for later this month.
Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said the decision to bring charges was made only after carefully reviewing the circumstances, including the child’s age and the obvious risks in that environment.
ZooAmerica, part of the larger Hershey entertainment complex, said the boy is about a year and a half old. In its statement, the zoo said he crawled under the outer barrier and reached through the main metal enclosure surrounding the wolf habitat.
The zoo described the wolf’s behavior as brief and investigative rather than aggressive, explaining that wolves often use their mouths to examine unfamiliar objects, much like people use their hands.
According to the zoo, the child’s injuries were minor and superficial. The wolf involved is vaccinated and remains in the exhibit.
Police Chief Garth Warner said he could not say exactly how long the parents were distracted, but noted that a child that young can easily get hurt in many ways, especially if left unsupervised near a dangerous animal enclosure.
The incident comes less than a year after another child safety scare at Hersheypark, when a lost boy wandered onto a monorail track and was rescued by a visitor. That child was not hurt.