A 23-year-old Minneapolis man was allegedly scratched by a cougar Thursday at the Como Zoo in St. Paul after apparently climbing a guardrail outside an exhibit.

Zoo security personnel called police around 3:45 p.m. after seeing a man who was wearing headphones yelling at the cougars and pushing on the barrier outside the animals' exhibit, said Matt Reinartz, Como Zoo spokesman.

The man was playing his music so loud that guards had to tap him on the shoulder, he said.

A visitor reported seeing the man standing on the railing and reaching through the safety steel mesh barriers, Reinartz said.

The zoo's two cougars are protected by a guardrail 42 inches high and by a 20-foot steel mesh fence on top, he said. Another steel mesh fence acts as a second barrier.

"A person would have to go to great lengths to penetrate both barriers," Reinartz said.

There are also at least 10 signs in the area warning visitors to stay back and not to climb the guardrail, he said.

When questioned, the man denied climbing on the railing and reaching through the mesh barrier, Reinartz said. He claimed that he had scratched his hand when exiting a bus. No zoo staffer saw the man climb the guardrail, according to Reinartz.

The man was cited for disturbing zoo animals and was released at the scene, according to a police report.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-710-5367