Everyone wants their children to have an up close and personal experience with animals at the zoo, but we usually want them to have that experience with a thick sheet of glass between them and the animal. While no one likes to visit an animal park and only see the side of a leopard snoozing in the back corner, they also don't want that animal too close for comfort. In Oklahoma, an exotic animal park has been accused of taking the "up close and personal" wildlife experience a little too far. The Humane Society of the United States recently caught wind that the G.W. Exotic Animal Park was allowing children to post for photographs and play with baby tigers.

While the tigers may seem harmless and quite adorable, the truth is that they are wild animals with thick claws. Allowing children so near the animals could be a very dangerous situation. The owner of the wild animal park says that the allegations are false, and that the humane society simple wants to throw him into a bankruptcy. According to one press release, the humane society sent in an undercover representative to check out the situation. He brought a video camera, and caught footage of small children handling a tiger that was too old to be harmless. The investigator heard about six incidents where a child was wounded by the tiger.

One animal rights organization states that it is dangerous to allow visitors to handle these unpredictable felines. Even though they are in captivity, the tigers are still wild animals with natural instincts. Unlike house cats, tigers are not predictable, and you cannot be certain that the animal will remain harmless, especially when he or she is being touched by little hands. An irritated or hungry tiger could turn in an instant, and the results could be devastating. The owner of the wild animal park decided to retaliate against the human society with his own lawsuit. He believes that the undercover investigator should have corrected deficiencies in animal care, instead of being concerned about the tigers.

The owner admitted that one of the bears at the park had no water on a sweltering day last year, but humane society worker failed to make that note. The humane society fought back by saying that they have other concerns about this wild animal park as well. Allegedly 23 tiger cubs perished at the park in 2009 and 2010, a situation which is still being investigated. The US Department of Agriculture is looking into the deaths, in order to preserve the public from a disaster similar to the wild animal escape in Zainesville, Ohio last year.

This Oklahoma wild animal park is not the only place where children are at risk to a big cat attack. Last year in Kansas, a seven-year-old boy was mauled by a leopard. According to a global animal report, the child was on a field trip with his school class, and climbed over the railing to get closer to the big cat. While there was still a mesh fence between the boy and the cat, the leopard was able to reach her claw through and grab the child by the head. Zoo staff rushed in and beat the leopard back, and the child was rushed to the hospital with injuries to his face, head and neck. He recovered from the incident with no permanent injuries.

Big cats are one group of the many zoo animals that can attack. Oftentimes a rogue monkey or an angry elephant can inflict as much damage as a tiger can. If you have been injured by a zoo animal, then you may be able to seek compensation. Your case will depend on the location of the animal, and whether or not you were warned and prevented from being near him or her. For example, in a zoo with preventative fencing, you will probably not win a personal injury lawsuit because you had to bypass signs that said "do not cross" to climb closer to the animal. Yet in a case where the animal is out in the open, such as at the Oklahoma wild animal park you would have the right to seek compensation. Discuss your case with a personal injury attorney for more information.