Stay classy.
A two-year-old boy is recovering after falling into a cheetah exhibit at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo after his parents dangled him over the edge, officials said.
The toddler's mother was holding him and another child when he slipped and fell between 10 to 12ft and into the pit on Saturday around 3pm.
The child was rescued by his parents before firefighters and paramedics arrived on the scene. He is listed in stable condition after being taken to MetroHealth Medical Center and suffered from minor bruises and bumps.
The boy's leg was injured in the fall, but he was not attacked by the animals, Dr. Christopher Kuhar, the zoo's executive director told Fox 8.
Michael Lurie and his family were at the Cheetah exhibit when they heard the child scream.
'You saw how far the drop was and you just couldn't believe the kid didn't hurt himself from falling down on the ground,' Lurie told WKYC. 'I was just shocked,' he said. 'I didn't understand how the parents let the kid go over the thing.'
The cheetahs did not approach the boy or his parents while in the pit, according to zoo officials. Zoo visitor Terra Lurie believes the boy was not approached by the fast feline because they were frightened.
'I think they were just curious as to what was going on and why somebody was in the pen with them,' she said. 'It's not every day that somebody is just in the pen with them.' 'And everyone else is screaming and they probably got scared.'
Kuhar said the zoo had received 'a number of eyewitness accounts' that indicate the 'strong likelihood that the child was dangled over the railing,' he told NewsNet5.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has plans to press child endangerment charges against the family on Monday.
The exhibit was closed following the child's fall.
