A man facing charges after he taped himself hopping a fence at the Columbus Zoo to pet the cougars said he regrets his actions.
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“I don’t know, I said “here kitty as a joke”…you know the cat’s not going to come and here comes the cat”, he said.
The video of the incident shows an outer fence of the cougar enclosure being jumped. It also caught the attention of the zoo and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office.
He now wishes he had never done it. Columbus Zoo officials say the video was reckless and called it alarming, but they were relieved neither 35-year-old Joshua M. Newell or the cougars were hurt.
He is due to appear in court on Wednesday. “The cats were looking like they wanted some love and [I] just jumped over and petted them”, a regretful Josh Newell, 35, told the NBC affiliated WCMH news channel.
The elderly animals are used to being around people but Newell says he is “thankful I’m still in one piece”.
Criminal trespassing is a misdemeanor violation.
“If the Columbus Zoo wants to press charges on me, that’s fine”, Newell said.
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A statement from the zoo said it was “fortunate that neither he [Mr Newell] nor the animals were harmed”.
