Toddler Dies after Falling into Wild Dog Exhibit at Pennsylvania Zoo

A two year old boy died today at the Pittsburgh Zoo today.  It was reported that he fell off the railing his mother had put him on.  He fell 11 feet into the exhibit and then was immediately pounced on by a pack of wild African dogs.  Zoo officials and police are not sure whether the boy died from the fall or from the mauling.

Fences and rails are put up for the reason not to go past them.  You’re not allowed to go above them,  you’re  not allowed to go below them.  They’re not meant to be keeping you from only passing the specific area that the fence or rail is at.  You just don’t go past a rail or fence, especially if there is an 11 foot drop and a pack of wild dogs on the other side.  The mother, who is 34 years old, should not have even put the toddler, who has no self-control, on the rail, much less take her hands off of him.  I think she should have kept him in a stroller the whole time or at least held his hand.  Even using one of those backpack “leashes” for kids would have been more beneficial.

In my opinion, parents are becoming less and less responsible for their kids every day.  You have to be extremely cautious with your kids, especially when they are as young as the boy in the story.  When they are as young as 2 years old, they have no control over themselves. So, as a parent, you have to control every aspect of their life or you could possibly lose them.