“This zoo in particular is a lot more open in terms of how close you can get to these animals,” said Mr. Wilkerson, describing the barrier as “a little bit above waist height” for him (he is 5-foot-9). He said what he witnessed was “more of a reach than a climb” by the woman who was injured, but he clarified that the barriers were safe for those who do not try to lean over them.

Image The jaguar left lacerations in the woman’s arm, but her injuries were non-life-threatening. Credit... Reuters

“Common sense would say that that would probably not be a good idea,” he added. The zoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Zoo officials told local news outlets that the woman, who has not been publicly identified, later apologized for her actions.

On Twitter, many expressed concern for the jaguar, and some drew comparisons to a similar incident in 2016, when a 3-year-old boy slipped into an enclosure and was dragged by a gorilla named Harambe, resulting in the animal’s being shot and killed by zoo workers. Then, as in this case, many did not fault the animal, and Harambe’s death caused widespread outrage.

The Wildlife World Zoo assured a Twitter user who worried that the jaguar might be euthanized: “We can promise you nothing will happen to our jaguar. She’s a wild animal and there were proper barriers in place to keep our guests safe — not a wild animal’s fault when barriers are crossed.”

Life-threatening and fatal incidents in recent years have highlighted the dangers that people will accept for a photo, especially a selfie. (It was not clear whether the woman in Arizona was trying to take a selfie.)