Lemurs attack toddler during visit to Georgia petting zoo, authorities say
A toddler is on the mend after his family says he was attacked by a lemur during a trip to a Georgia petting zoo over the weekend, state authorities said.
The child and his father were in the lemur enclosure at Half Moon Petting Zoo in Bogart on March 19 when one of the animals jumped on the boy’s head, Lt. Wayne Hubbard with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division told McClatchy News.
The zoo owner had a permit, Hubbard said, but will likely face charges.
“We worked with the county agencies, the sheriff’s office and the Department of Health,” he said of the agency’s investigation into the incident. “It happened and we’re just trying to make sure the health of the child is taken care of.”
The boy’s father, Ronnie Carroll, told WXIA the attack landed his young son in the hospital with scratches to his face, head and neck.
“I was holding him in my arms and as soon as we opened the gate to the lemurs, the lemurs jumped on my son...my son’s head was just gushing blood,” Carroll told the news station.
The petting zoo’s owner, Marek Lipold, witnessed the attack and said “it’s the lemurs’ nature to jump on people inside the cage,” WAGA reported.
“They can bite if they want to, but they’ve never bit anybody,” Lipold said, according to the news station.
McClatchy News reached out to Half Moon Petting Zoo on Tuesday, March 22, and was awaiting a response.
The facility is home to a variety of animals including lemurs, camels, llamas, horses and goats, according to photos posted on the zoo’s Facebook page.
Carroll’s son is expected to be OK, but the father said he was worried his son may have been exposed to a disease after learning the lemurs aren’t vaccinated, he told McClatchy News. He noted that the petting zoo owner has been cooperative and that he doesn’t plan to pursue charges.
“I was really scared about my son,” Carroll said. “But I really would like for this to be a learning experience for ... the state of Georgia, the county to regulate these petting zoos because apparently you’re not even supposed to have a lemur at a petting zoo.”
Bogart is about 60 miles northeast of Atlanta.
This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 4:54 PM with the headline "Lemurs attack toddler during visit to Georgia petting zoo, authorities say."