Bear Lunges at Trainer and Tackles Him to the Ground in Front of Shocked Crowd at Animal Park
NEED TO KNOW
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A black bear at a zoo in China attacked its handler ahead of a live performance
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Crowds filmed the shocking moment the bear lunged at the man multiple times at the Hangzhou Safari Park
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The trainer later claimed that the bear was simply going after his bag of carrots
Visitors at a zoo in China got more than they bargained for on Saturday, Dec. 6.
As a handler was leading a black bear to the stage at Hangzhou Safari Park, which is located in the province of Zhejiang, about two hours south of Shanghai, the bear attacked the man.
Onlookers filmed the shocking moment as multiple employees attempted to step in and force the bear off of the handler. In a video shared by Newsflare, per the Associated Press, one appeared to be wielding a basketball hoop and backboard, trying to push the bear away, while another had a stack of stools. Another employee also hit the bear with a large bamboo stick, while one man even tried to pull the bear off with one hand while holding a parrot in the other.
The handler is seen breaking free from the bear and standing up, only to approach the animal again in an effort to get him backstage. Once again, the bear lunged at the man and multiple park employees had to fend him off.
Newsflare
The bear and his handler during the incident
Finally the bear was carried backstage and the crowd was told the show would be suspended, per the AP.
Trainer Zhou Jiazhen was bitten by the bear, whose name is Xiong Er, but claimed that the animal did not intend to harm him. Jiazhen said that the bear — whom he raised from a young age — was being greed and simply wanted his bag of carrots.
Newsflare
Multiple employees attempted to stop the attack
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“If it really wanted to attack, I wouldn’t be standing here now,” Jiazhen said, per the outlet.
However, despite the innocent bear behavior, the Hangzhou Safari Park has moved Xiong Er to a different, larger feeding area in the mountains and the bear will no longer participate in behavioral displays.
Newsflare
One employee appeared to use a basketball hoop and backboard in an attempt to help get the bear off his handler
While he might not be doing displays with Xiong Er, Jiazhen said that he regularly visits the bear.
PEOPLE has reached out to Hangzhou Safari Park for comment.
The safari park’s Weibo account shared that neither the trainer nor the bear was injured during the incident, per Global News.
This isn’t the first time the area has experienced controversy when it comes to bears. In 2023, the Hangzhou Zoo was forced to refute claims that the bears were actually people in bear suits after videos went viral online of bears sitting on their hind legs.
Read the original article on People
