Ohio zoo officials: Mom dropped toddler into cheetah pit

CLEVELAND - Zoo officials in Cleveland say a woman was dangling her 2-year-old son over a railing when he fell about 10 feet into a cheetah exhibit.

Cleveland Metroparks Zoo says the toddler's parents jumped in and pulled him to safety Saturday afternoon.

The zoo's executive director says the cheetahs didn't go toward the boy or his parents and that several eyewitnesses saw the woman holding the child over the railing.

Zoo officials say the boy hurt his leg in the fall. Cleveland Fire Department spokesman Larry Gray says the toddler was treated for bumps and bruises at a hospital.

The zoo says Cleveland Metroparks plans to seek child endangering charges against the mother.