Animal keeper at Columbus Zoo attacked by cheetah

POWELL, Ohio — An animal keeper at an Ohio zoo escaped serious injury on Thursday after being attacked by a cheetah, officials said.

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The incident occurred at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium at about 10 a.m., WSYX reported. Two staffers were walking the cheetah, Isabelle, from the zoo’s Animal Programs cheetah facility in the Heart of Africa to the behind-the-scenes yard for her daily exercise, the television station reported.

According to zoo officials, Isabelle was harnessed, which is standard procedure, WBNS reported.

At the same time, a keeper from the Heart of Africa region was walking down the service road toward Isabelle, WBNS reported.

“At this time, Isabelle’s care team had her sit and she was calm and purring. The team invited the keeper to approach closer,” zoo officials said in a statement. “When the keeper approached them, Isabelle crouched down and lunged toward the Heart of Africa keeper, who works around giraffes and other hoofstock. We believe that, due to normal animal behavior, the scent of these other animals on the keeper triggered a natural instinct in Isabelle, who reacted.”

The team contacted first responders with the Liberty Township Fire Department, WSYX reported. The zoo said the keeper was taken to the hospital “for further evaluation out of precaution” and was later released, the television station reported.

“You can train a wild animal, but it is impossible to tame them and it just can’t be done, instinct is so powerful,” Suzi Rapp, vice president of animal programs at the zoo, told WBNS. “They are a wild animal and we treat them as that.”

Last year, Isabelle gave birth to two cubs through in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, the television station reported.

“Izzy is probably one of the most famous cheetahs in the world because a lot of people will know last year we did intro fertilization transfer. Izzy was the recipient of that transfer and 83 days later gave birth to two beautiful perfect cubs, Dave and Adrienne,” Rapp said. “That was the first time in the world that science had been successful.”

Zoo officials said this is Isabelle’s first incident. According to guidelines set by the Delaware County General Health District, she will be placed in a 30-day quarantine to ensure that she does not show signs of illness, WBNS reported. After 30 days she will be returned to her habitat, the television station reported.

Cox Media Group