Thomas Tracy
New York Daily News
The Bronx Zoo’s cat lady clawed her way back to her favorite feline exhibit to harass the lions, authorities said Friday.
Mayah Autry, the wide-eyed cat lover arrested in 2019 for jumping into zoo’s lion’s enclosure visited the big cats again on Thursday, to throw roses and money at them, police said.
Sporting a bleached-blonde wig, a low-cut red party dress, white stockings and a leopard print shawl, Autry was recorded climbing over a small fence at about 3:45 p.m. with two bushels of roses, which she began tossing to the big cats a few feet away, cops said.
She allegedly pulled out a wad of $100 bills and hurled the money in the lions’ direction.
“I love you! I came back for you!” she was heard screaming, authorities said.
Witnesses called 911, reporting that a woman was “playing with the lions” at the zoo, but when officers arrived, she was gone.
A Bronx Zoo spokesman said that Autry was “taunting the lions.”
“Video shows she crossed a barrier into a planted area near the exhibit,” spokesman Max Pulsinelli said in a statement. “The woman was not in the exhibit (and) she was never in the same space as the lions.”
Cops quickly identified the woman as Autry, who was charged with criminal trespass and reckless mischief for jumping into the enclosure and waving at the lions on Sept. 28, 2019.
After taunting the police on social media, Autry surrendered to authorities in November.
Cops were searching for Autry Friday.
“This situation involves one individual who is determined to harass our lions with no regard for her safety, or the safety of our staff and our guests, and no regard for the well-being of the lions,” Pulsinelli said. “The Bronx Zoo has a zero tolerance policy in matters such as this and will aggressively seek prosecution against this individual and anyone who violates park safety rules.”
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