New Details Released In Tiger Enclosure Scare At OKC Zoo

Big scare Thursday afternoon at the Oklahoma City Zoo as a tiger got out of his enclosure and tangled in netting.

Jim Gardner and Bob Mills SkyNews 9 HD got an exclusive view as the animal was subdued. No one was in danger, but we're learning some new details about the ordeal.

There were dozens of families with small children inside the zoo so you can only imagine how scary a 'Code Red' announcement would have been.

4/30/15 Related Story: Tiger Contained After Escaping Enclosure At OKC Zoo

Cell phone video from inside the Cat Forest Habitat captures the 4-year-old Sumatran tiger apparently trying to get out of its enclosure.

"At the moment, the tiger had just chewed through its chain link fence, and only had about half of its body through," said zoo visitor, Devin Dobson.

Devin Dobson heard the commotion and started recording on her phone. She said at one point people could see the tiger latched on to a Leopard in the exhibit next door.

"Finally it crawled all the way through this little tiny hole and it unlatched from whatever it was holding on to, potentially possibly the Leopard," said Dobson. "She kind of fell in between the chain linked fence."

"It could have gone real bad," said Sophia King.

Sophia King, who was inside with her daughter, snapped a picture of the tiger tangled in the netting. The tiger appeared to be stuck between both exhibits.

"It was a lot of preschools and daycares in there today," said King.

"Staff responded as if she were in a situation where it was unsafe," said Dwight Lawson, Exec. Dir., and CEO of the OKC Zoo.

That's when a Code Red was announced.

"They just said like, Cod Red, there was a tiger loose, but contained," said zoo visitor, Laura Bush.

"They said, Code Red, employees Code Red, and then we didn't think anything of it," said Dean Smith visiting with his four sons.

But then Dean said zoo employees started frantically heading toward the tigers enclosure.

"That's when we knew this was probably getting pretty serious," said Smith.

News 9's own Jim Gardner over the scene in Bob Mills Sky News 9 HD witnessed zoo keepers tranquilize the tiger and carry her out on a stretcher.

The tiger exhibit will remain closed while the staff tries to figure out how the tiger got out of her enclosure.