A woman charged two years ago with a criminal case for trespassing into a lion enclosure at Bronx Zoo was caught on cam again climbing onto the fenced-in area near the lion exhibit, Thursday.
NYC police are currently looking for the 32-year-old woman identified to be Myah Autry, the same person involved in the zoo incident in 2019, and the authorities are asking for the public's help to locate her whereabouts.
"This situation involves one individual who is determined to harass our lions with no regard for her safety or the safety of our staff and our guests, and no regard for the well-being of the lions," a zoo spokesperson told FOX 5 New York. "The Bronx Zoo has a zero-tolerance policy in matters such as this and will aggressively seek prosecution against this individual and anyone who violates park safety rules."
The 'Lion Queen's' outlandish stunt
In the video that gone viral in social media, it can be seen that the 'lion lady' in a red dress and leopard print shawl with a rose, stood across a moat from a lion while talking and tossing money to it.
Two years ago, Autry was also charged with a criminal trespass charge for climbing into the lion enclosure at the same zoo and taunting the animal inside. Authorities say she also entered the fenced-in giraffe enclosure.
The Bronx Zoo once issued a statement regarding the stunt saying that the "action was a serious violation and unlawful trespass that could have resulted in serious injury or death. Barriers and rules are in place to keep both visitors, staff and animals safe. We have a zero-tolerance policy on trespass and violation of barriers."
The lion exhibit is part of the zoo's African Plains exhibit, along with African wild dogs and zebras.
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'Lion Lady' claims she is a 'Black Israelite'
On a wild arraignment hearing following the 2019 criminal charge of Autry, she appeared in a courtroom wearing an NYPD T-shirt and consistently shouted "shalom", exclaiming her devotion to Allah and Jehovah.
Autry interrupted the judge, shouting "All praises go to Jah and Jehovah!" when her case was called. She refused to stay quiet despite being reprimanded and cried out a number of times that she is a "black Israelite."
"Shalom to you and your families," she added. Upon being released on her own recognizance, she continued shouting outside to the reporters her passionate rants.
In the recent incident, authorities are unsure if Autry has a lawyer to represent her since she had fled and nowhere to be found at the moment.
One netizen said in a comment: "The bad part of this is if the Lion were to kill it and eat it, by law, the Lion would have to be put down for attacking a human. The zoo would have to say the thing the Lion killed was not human! The public should support them on that statement."
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