Ohio man charged after Instagram video shows him jumping over a fence and into an elephant enclosure at the Pittsburgh Zoo

(Photo Courtesy of Noah Thomas (justnoah.t) from video on Instragram, Posted on September 22nd, 2025, Courtesy of KDKA, Posted on Facebook on October 17th, 2025)

Noah Haswell, Beaver County Radio News

(Pittsburgh, PA) Nineteen-year-old Noah Thomas of Ohio is now facing several felony charges in connection with an incident in which police say he jumped over a fence of an elephant enclosure at the Pittsburgh Zoo and went face to face with an elephant. This incident occurred on September 21st, 2025, which also was Thomas’ nineteenth birthday, and the video of this incident from the self-proclaimed influencer was posted on Instagram the following day. Thomas is seen in the video jumping over the fence and into the enclosure when the elephant he encountered approaches him, rams the gate and raises its trunk at him. Thomas was one of two people to trespass into the Pittsburgh Zoo when this incident occurred. According to police, Thomas and another person entered the zoo through a temporary exit without purchasing tickets and made their way to the elephant barn. Police confirmed that Thomas then exited the area, but was later approached by security, and Thomas refused to identify himself before security escorted him out. An arrest warrant has been issued for both Thomas and Adrianna Marsco, who was with Thomas at the zoo at the time of this incident. Thomas faces filed charges which include causing or risking catastrophe, criminal trespassing, creulty to animals and reckless endangerment.