A Massachusetts college student “very interested in tigers” was busted for trying to enter one of their cages at a Boston zoo, cops said Tuesday.
Matthew Abraham, 24, was spotted by staffers at the Franklin Park Zoo in a private outdoor area behind the tiger enclosure at about 8:45 a.m. Monday, state police told The Post.
Abraham allegedly climbed multiple fences to get into the non-public area and then hopped over a gate and fled when workers approached him, according to state police.
The big cat enthusiast was tracked down by security staff at the zoo after a brief search, state police said. Neither Abraham nor any animals were hurt, zoo officials told The Post.
Abraham told authorities he was “very interested in tigers,” which led him to try to get into the enclosure. Responding paramedics then assessed his mental state and found him to be competent before he refused treatment, state police spokesman David Procopio said.
Abraham, who was charged with trespassing and disorderly conduct, is a biology major at Worcester State University, he told WCVB.
“I was there as a spectator of the zoo,” Abraham told the station. “I didn’t mean to harm anybody. I wasn’t looking to harm the tiger. I wasn’t looking to harm myself neither. My plan was just to go see what is a tiger. How would a tiger react to a human being?”
Abraham, of Worcester, was discovered behind an exhibit that houses Anala, a Bengal tiger mix, WCVB reported. The college student insists he had no intention of getting anywhere near the big cat nor inside its enclosure.
“I was about say 20 yards away, and there was a fence between me and the tiger,” he said, adding he intended to get close enough to look the animal directly in its eyes.
“They say it’s something called the eye of the tiger,” he continued. “They say the eye of the tiger is the most dangerous thing you’ll ever see in your whole life … They say that the soul is visible through the eye.”
The animal aficionado admitted not paying admission to get into the zoo, claiming he didn’t think he had to since it’s winter, WCVB reported.
“The gates were open,” Abraham said. “I walked in the gates and then they closed that gate on me. I didn’t realize I was trespassing. I thought I was just going to view the exhibit.”
Abraham did get close enough to the tiger to hear the animal growl, he told WHDH.
“I didn’t break in, I was let in,” Abraham told the station following his arrest. “The tiger was in his cage. The tiger saw me and growled at me and that was all.”
Abraham, who was released after paying a $40 clerk’s fee, also left the door open on a follow-up return to the enclosure.
“No. I mean what?” he told WHDH when asked if he’d try it again. “Go see a tiger? I don’t know. Maybe.”
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