Bronx Zoo tiger victim recovering, charged with trespass

The Putnam County man who told the NYPD that he wanted to "be one" with a 400-pound tiger that mauled him at the Bronx Zoo last week is free to go once he recovers from his wounds, but he must appear for a court date in January, police said yesterday.

David Villalobos, 25, was issued a desk appearance ticket late Saturday, charging him with criminal trespass, a misdemeanor, and trespass, a violation, police said.

"He's still hospitalized," an NYPD spokesman said yesterday. "His condition doesn't allow for him to go through the system."

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said Saturday that Villalobos told investigators that he deliberately leaped from a zoo monorail into a zoo exhibit shortly after 3 p.m. Friday.

Villalobos also told detectives that "his leap was definitely not a suicide attempt, but a desire to be one with the tiger," Browne said.

After he jumped, Villalobos was alone with a Siberian tiger for about 10 minutes before he was rescued, zoo director Jim Breheny said.