Shocking Incident: Toddler’s Close Call with Wolves While Distracted Parents Scroll On

A toddler in Pennsylvania sustained minor injuries after reportedly inserting his hand into a wolf enclosure at a zoo while his parents were allegedly distracted by their cellphones.

Stephen Wilson, 61, and Carrie Sortor, 43, now face misdemeanor charges of child endangerment. According to the Derry Township Police Department, the couple’s 17-month-old son managed to slip through a small gap in the wooden barrier surrounding the enclosure at Hershey’s ZooAmerica park. The young child reached through the metal fence, and a wolf, acting on natural instincts, took the child’s hand in its mouth.

At the time of the incident, Wilson and Sortor were reportedly seated on a bench approximately 25 to 30 feet from the enclosure, absorbed in their phones.

The police report stated that the parents had moved to a seating area nearly 30 feet from the wolf exhibit, where they remained focused on their devices until a “commotion” captured their attention.

This disturbance was caused by other zoo visitors who swiftly intervened to pull the boy away from the wolf, according to authorities.

According to a statement from a spokesperson for Hershey Entertainment and Resorts that was provided to local ABC affiliate WHTH, the boy was never actually inside the wolf enclosure. The statement read, “Our habitats are designed with multiple layers of protection, and clear signage and barriers are in place to help ensure safe viewing. Guests are expected to remain within designated areas and closely supervise children at all times.”

Local NBC affiliate WGAL had more of the statement from Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, which said that after reviewing the alleged incident, it was determined that the boy “was able to crawl under an exterior perimeter fence, travel to the primary metal enclosure surrounding the wolf habitat, and put his hand through that fence. A wolf approached and made contact with the child’s hand. This type of response is consistent with natural animal behavior and was not a sign of aggression.”

The spokesperson described the boy’s injuries as minor.

Court dates for Sortor and Wilson were not publicly available.