Naked Man Jumps Into Lizard Tank
Nov 13, 2004 8:53 am US/Eastern
A man was undergoing psychiatric evaluation after he jumped naked into a pool of carnivorous reptiles at the Bronx Zoo, authorities said.
The episode happened at about 1:30 p.m. Friday, when the man, whose name was not released, stripped off his clothes and climbed a 5-foot wall surrounding the zoo's tank of caimans -- a type of crocodile from Central and South America, police said. The tank was inside the zoo's World of Darkness section, which features nocturnal animals.
He tried to touch one of the toothy lizards before police and zookeepers were called to the scene and pulled him out.
"Thankfully, no one got hurt and it didn't happen while there were any school groups around," zoo spokesman Linda Corcoran told the Daily News for Saturday editions.
It was not clear why the man jumped into the tank. He was taken to Jacobi Medical Center for observation.
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