The woman was reportedly dangling her young son over the railings of a cheetah exhibit at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, in a bid to help him to see the animals better.
However, in a horrifying moment, she suddenly lost her grip on the child.
The two-year-old fell about three metres into the cheetah exhibit, injuring his leg.
But, thankfully, the cheetahs did not seem interested in the little boy.
The toddlers parents quickly jumped down into the pit and got their child to a local hospital, where he was treated for bumps and bruises.
The zoo says Cleveland Metroparks plans to seek child endangering charges against the mother.
It is not the first time that something like this has happened; in 2012, a child fell from his mother’s grasp into an enclosed wild African Dogs exhibit below.
Tragically, the two-year-old child was fatally mauled.
Would you ever lift your child up to look over the railings at a zoo? Let us know via the comments box below now.