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Cleveland MetroParks Zoo officials said they plan to press charges against a woman accused of dangling her 2-year-old son over the cheetah exhibit.

(Patrick Cooley/NEOMG)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A mother dangled her 2-year-old son over the cheetah exhibit in the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo Saturday afternoon when the boy slipped out of her grasp and fell, zoo officials said.

Cleveland Metroparks plans to press child endangering charges against her, according to a news release.

The boy, who fell between 10 and 12 feet into the cheetah pit, was taken to MetroHealth Medical Center to be treated for minor bumps and bruises from the fall, Cleveland Fire Department spokesman Larry Gray said.

The child's parents went into the exhibit and pulled him to safety, the news release said. The cheetahs never approached the boy or his parents, according to zoo officials.

The child had been pulled to safety by the time paramedics and firefighters arrived, Gray said.

The mother was also holding another child when the boy slipped from her grasp, he said.

The cheetah exhibit was closed for the remainder of the day.