Actually depending on how many amps is backing up that 10,000 volts, even using wood would've knocked him off the wall (considering that it killed the one kid for a few minutes the amps were definitely high enough to toast him through a stick.
A PHD in Paleontology doesn't mean he knows jack squat about electricity. He more than likely never took any engineering courses and his last physics course, if he took one at all, might have been high school. Just like you shouldn't expect someone with a PHD in mathematics to be able to tell the difference between an Allosaurus tooth and a Carnotaurus tooth.
What else is going to test it with in the middle of a dinosaur theme park exhibit on a jungle island away from the main control center? A multimeter conveniently stowed away in his shoes?
When's the last time you did something irrationally stupid? Every one has them at some point.