A 3-year-old boy is in critical condition after a jaguar bit his neck when he fell into the animal's pit at a zoo Friday, authorities reported.

The boy, whose name was chosen to be withheld by his family, was at Little Rock, Arkansas' Little Rock Zoo with his family, when he fell into the jaguar's pit when a relative held the boy on the railing.

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According to witnesses, the jaguar bit into the child's neck after he fell.

One zookeeper who called the emergency services, said she  hurriedly ran to the scene after hearing people's screams and saw that one of the cats had its mouth clamped around the boy's neck. according to a police report.

The little boy was sent to the Arkansas Children's Hospital, where he was treated for skull fracture, skull and puncture wounds, according to Lt. Sidney Allen of the Little Rock Police Department.

Though the wounds were not life threatening, doctors at the hospital have yet to confirm whether the toddler's puncture wounds were caused by the fall or jaguar bite.

In a statement released by Susan Altrui, spokeswoman of the Little Rock Zoo, the incident happened around 10:45 a.m. CST, and the zookeepers immediately went to the pit to get the boy, while they used fire extinguishers to keep the jaguars from the boy.

Altrui said the zookeepers have been trained to use fire extinguishers during dangerous incidents where the animals have to be overwhelmed.

"Zookeepers were able to successfully keep the cats back while other zoo staff lowered a ladder into the exhibit," she said, adding that the zookeeper was able to retrieve the boy who was still conscious at the time.

The child was then handed to his father, who immediately brought his son to the hospital.

Tagsjaguar, zoo accident, toddler bitten by jaguar, Society news