Now, from the perspective of the video (and from what I remember of the lion habitat at the Bronx), it looks like there is still a moat between the woman and the lion. At least, that's what it looks like. Regardless, this is a stupid, dangerous, and illegal thing to do that could have had very serious - potentially lethal - ramifications for her, the lion, or both of them. What if she had fallen into the moat? There would be nothing stopping the lion from going down after her - and it would be a lot harder for zoo staff to effect a rescue.
I'm making allowances her for the fact that this woman might be mentally ill or something, but if that's the case, bystanders should have done something, like try to restrain her, or at least run and notify zoo staff so the lions could be recalled to a secure area. Instead, people filmed and this went viral... which was almost certainly the point of this idiotic exercise.
I've heard of some zoos having alarm systems installed in their visitor guardrails to notify them if visitors cross. I've also heard of some rigorously pressing criminal charges against anyone who enters exhibits. I think both are great ideas. Most zoos hold animal escape drills; now many have also begun implementing visitor-in-enclosure drills. We've already seen how this sort of occurrence can end, both in cases where visitors have entered enclosures willingly and accidentally.
Accidents happen, and we can do our best to prevent them by being mindful and building secure barriers. Idiocy is a lot harder to protect against. As they say, nothing is fool-proof to the well-trained fool...
Edit: The women in question has been identified, and a warrant put out for her arrest. Hopefully, this will serve as a deterrent for future acts of stupidity
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