A woman alarmed other visitors Monday when she jumped a barrier into the lion exhibit at a Tennessee zoo and started singing to the lions while trying to feed them cookies, zoo officials and witnesses said.
And it might not have been the first time.
The woman, who wasn't identified but was described as wearing brown "scrubs," was permanently ejected from the Memphis Zoo, where employees were given her photograph in case she ever tried to return.
Abbey Dane, a spokeswoman for the zoo, told NBC station WMC of Memphis that security officers previously noticed the same woman throwing something to the lions last week. She said the woman also tried to feed them cookies during that incident.
Dane confirmed the new incident Monday night in a brief Facebook message reading: "Tonight's breaking news. Lions, cookies and singing... Ooooh my."
After breaching the barrier Monday morning — where she was separated from the lions only by some wire fencing — the woman started singing loudly about how much she missed the lions, said Michelle Beasley, a witness.
"She was coming back, and she crawled up on it again and was leaning forward," Beasley told WMC. "It was bizarre. I've never seen someone singing to a lion."
Dane said the woman's behavior posed a threat not only to herself, but also to the lions.
"She was asked to leave the zoo permanently," Dane said. "She will not be granted access to the zoo anymore."
The type of cookies wasn't specified.
— M. Alex Johnson
