The Arizona zoo where a jaguar attacked a woman attempting to take a selfie with the animal has promised that the large cat will not be put down.

The Wildlife World Zoo said on Twitter that the attack was not the jaguar’s fault, as there were proper barriers in place before the attack.

“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. Still sending prayers to her and her family,” the zoo said.

The woman was attacked on Saturday after crossing a barrier to take a selfie with the jaguar, and was taken to the hospital for medical treatment after the mauling.

The woman later apologised to the zoo, telling officials there that she “feels horrible about the bad publicity the zoo is getting regarding the incident.”

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“The visitor sustained non-life threatening injuries to their arm from one of our female jaguars. At the request of the family, paramedics were called. At no time was the animal out of its enclosure ... please understand why barriers are put in place. Sending prayers to the family tonight,” the zoo tweeted following the incident.

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