Father tells story after claims lemurs attacked his 17-month-old son at a petting zoo in Bogart.
BOGART, Georgia — A toddler ended up in the hospital after his parents said he was attacked by lemurs at a petting zoo in Bogart, Georgia on Saturday.
“He’s got head injuries on the back of his head, scratches on his neck and a scrape, a laceration under his eye,” his father Ronnie Carroll said as he shared photos of his 17-month-old son Lawrence following his injuries while visiting the Half Moon Petting Zoo in Bogart. “I just thought my son would pet goats and stuff like that.”
However, Carroll said when they went into the cage for the lemurs, they attacked the toddler.
“I held him in my arms and as soon as we opened the gate to the lemurs, the lemurs jumped on my son…my son’s head just bled,” Caroll said.
11Alive spoke to the owner of the petting zoo, Marek Lipold. He said he was right behind the family when they went into the cage and still doesn’t know how that happened.
“They (lemurs) don’t have nails, they can bite, but they never bite me, they never bite anyone,” he said.
Lipold shared that he only opened the petting zoo as a hobby in July after first buying a camel and then the lemurs. He also has horses, a pony and llamas. He said that if any animals were of concern to young children, it would usually be the larger ones, which makes him even more surprised.
Carroll said they are now afraid Lawrence will need a rabies shot.
“These animals have not been vaccinated, we are really concerned about what diseases my son could get if he was scratched or bitten by a primate,” Carroll said.
Lipold said a vet examined the lemurs the day before.
“She said she’s never injected lemurs, so they don’t need the injections and they’re young — they’re caged, they’re not going anywhere,” Lipold said.
While 11Alive was at the petting zoo Monday, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources showed up to speak to Lipold about the alleged attack. The agency said it is evaluating how best to observe the lemurs for several days and will likely place them elsewhere.
Carroll said his son appears to be fine. “The trauma that I and my wife went through is still going through it because at the end of the day we still don’t know if my son has rabies or not,” he said.
Lipold said he’s happy to work with law enforcement to get the lemurs tested for diseases, but said ultimately he’ll likely close the petting zoo forever.
