Woman who climbed into Bronx Zoo lion's den in custody, police say
ASBURY PARK, N.J. – The woman who went viral after climbing into the lion's den at the Bronx Zoo has turned herself in, police said Thursday.
Myah Autry, 30, turned herself in to the police on Wednesday night and is currently in custody. Autry is being charged with two counts of criminal trespass, police confirmed to Paste BN.
A video of Autry dancing in front of a large male African lion took over Instagram and Twitter at the end of September. She can be seen in the video waving and dancing in the enclosure, while a man can be heard asking her to come back.
While she wasn't in any immediate danger from the big cat—she was separated from the lion by a large moat—the Bronx Zoo has a zero-tolerance policy on trespass.
In a video of Autry outside of a Kearny, New Jersey courthouse last Thursday, where she was appearing for an unrelated shoplifting charge, she explained why she decided to climb into the lion's den.
“I fear nobody. No animal, no human, no one," she said in the video. "So no, I wasn’t fearing of the lion because the lion loved me. That’s why he came to me and I let the lion know: Lion, I love you."
She also said she made a bold declaration: "I am the lion now."
Contributing: Adrianna Rodriguez, Paste BN. Follow Jack McLoone on Twitter: @jfmclooney