Elephant charges dad who carried 2-year-old inside zoo habitat, California video shows

Onlookers scream and shout “get out” as an elephant charges a man holding his 2-year-old daughter inside an elephant enclosure at the San Diego Zoo, a video shows.

The father, who has his back to the trotting elephant, dashes for the fence, briefly dropping his daughter before ducking through to safety as the elephant roars, onlooker video obtained by KFMB shows.

“It’s an extremely dangerous situation, and no one in their right mind should ever think about doing this,” Catherine Doyle of the Performing Animal Welfare Society told the station.

“Oftentimes, the public thinks of elephants just like Disney’s Dumbo where they can pet them and ride them, and that’s not the case,” Doyle told KFMB. Onlookers say the man appeared to be posing for a photo with his daughter.

After the Friday afternoon incident, San Diego police arrested Jose Manuel Navarrete, 25, on suspicion of child cruelty for taking his daughter inside the exhibit, KSWB reported.

Zoo officials said Navarrete breached several barriers to enter the enclosure, home to African and Asian elephants, KNSD reported.

No one was injured in the incident, which took place about 4 p.m., but onlookers were shocked.

“A lot of people froze and didn’t know really how to take it in, then immediately everyone was pleading with him and then it became frantic and hysterical,” Matthew Passiglia told KNSD.

The elephant noticed the intruder almost immediately and made what appears to be a mock charge that could have become dangerous if Navarrete had not fled, Doyle told KFMB.

“We told him to get out and he turned around and he saw it, thankfully, just in time,” Jake Ortale told KSWB. “He runs, throws his baby through the gate and it’s seconds from hitting him. He jumps through the gate, falls on the ground and then it roared. … The baby starts crying and people were just mad at this guy.”

Navarrete is being held on $100,000 bail, CNN reported.

This story was originally published March 21, 2021 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Elephant charges dad who carried 2-year-old inside zoo habitat, California video shows."