North Dakota woman pleads guilty to trespass for zoo selfie
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An 18-year-old North Dakota woman who authorities say jumped a zoo guard rail to take a selfie in front of a primate cage has pleaded guilty to trespassing.
Ashlee Brown was fined $300 after Monday’s guilty plea and will be on unsupervised probation for nearly a year. She can keep the incident off her record if she stays out of trouble during that time.
Authorities say Brown jumped the rail at Bismarck’s Dakota Zoo in July, touched a small ape known as a siamang, and took a photograph. The Bismarck Tribune reports Brown didn’t testify in court and declined comment.
Zoo director Terry Lincoln said at the time that some diseases can be transmitted between humans and primates, and actions like Brown’s raise safety concerns for zoo visitors.
