In the video, the man quickly turns around when the tiger starts to approach.
A witness said a zoo worker scolded the man and told him not to do it again.
"He jumped uh, that uh fence like the little railing and the tiger just launched at him and he jumped back up. I heard from somebody he said he dropped his glasses or something but when he came back up I didn't see nothing in his hand," witness Sam Fayad told ABC7's sister station, KGO-TV.
Fayad said the tiger became agitated and started pacing back and forth.
The zoo released a statement, saying, "The Oakland zoo meets and exceeds safety requirements set by state, federal, and AZA accreditation standards. We hope that all of our visitors act responsibly, and don't attempt to put themselves in potentially unsafe situations."