Overview
- The 17-month-old crawled under a perimeter fence Saturday at ZooAmerica in Hershey, put his hand through the wolf habitat’s metal barrier, and sustained minor hand injuries.
- Bystanders pulled the child away after a wolf briefly took the hand in its mouth in what the zoo called investigatory behavior, not aggression.
- Police say the boy’s parents were about 25 to 30 feet away on a bench and appeared to be looking at their cellphones when the incident unfolded.
- Derry Township police and the Dauphin County district attorney charged Carrie B. Sortor and Stephen J. B. Wilson on Monday with misdemeanor endangering the welfare of children.
- Investigators reviewed security video, set a preliminary hearing for April 28, and asked anyone with eyewitness accounts or video to contact Sgt. Dennis Eckenrode as the zoo noted its enclosure has multiple barriers and the wolf remained secured and vaccinated.