A child who fell into a jaguar exhibit at the Little Rock Zoo in
Arkansas on Friday is now listed in stable condition, according to a
hospital spokesman.
The 3-year-old boy's
condition has been updated from critical to stable, according to a press
release from Arkansas Children's Hospital obtained by
CNN affiliate KARK.
The child, who is not being named, is expected to improve.
"We respect the wishes of
the child's guardian, who asked that the child's name and any
additional information not be shared at this time," said Dan McFadden,
director of communications for the hospital.
Witnesses say screams for
help rang out loudly after the 3-year-old boy slipped through the
exhibit rail feet first, plummeting into the cat pit, according to a
Little Rock police report.
The child was with his
father and grandfather at the time of the incident. The father told
Little Rock police he was leaning over the rail in an attempt to take a
photograph of the animals and observed his son's feet go over the rail
out of his peripheral vision. The child's grandfather says the little
boy fell approximately 15-16 feet, police said.
Two jaguars in the
enclosure attac