A 2-year-old fell into an African painted dog exhibit at a Pittsburgh Zoo after his mother had lifted him onto a railing to see the animals.
According to TribLive News, Barbara Baker, president and CEO of the zoo, said the dogs are territorial by nature and when the boy fell into the exhibit they went into a pack and attacked the boy.
“The dogs were doing what the dogs normally do,” Baker said.
Major Crimes Lieutenant Kevin Kraus said “The mother picked the child up, put him on the railing. Almost immediately after that, he lost his balance and fell into the pit.”
Zoo officials say visitors reacted quickly by notifying the staff and the veterinaries on site quickly fired darts at the dogs to try and scare them off.
There are conflicting stories between the zoo and Kraus about workers trying to enter the pit to save the boy.
The zoo stated “keepers attempted to enter the yard to lure the dogs away, but were unable to reach the child.” While Kraus said, “No one made an active attempt to enter the pit.”
NBC reports that when workers tried to get the dogs away all of them moved but 1. A Pittsburg police officer shot the reaming dog.
The names of the mother and child have not been released.
The African painted dogs are the size of a medium domesticated dog and can weigh between 37 and 80 pounds. They are considered an endangered species.
