A circus bear attacked its handler at a live performance in Russia, causing a lot of audience members to worry and feel in danger while at the family event.
The shocking moment happened five years ago but has recently resurfaced on social media, bringing back much discourse around circuses and the participation of animals in shows for entertainment.
The incident happened a while back
In October 2019, which believe it or not, was five years ago, a bear performance at a circus in the northwest Russian Republic of Karelia went wrong in front of a full arena of watchers.
The incident has gone viral more than once since then.
The stunt involved a wheelbarrow
The performance is known as ‘Clubfoot and the Garden Wheelbarrow,’ in which the bear carries a wheelbarrow in a tent while the circus visitors watch, as reported by Republic World.
The bear would walk on its hind legs while pushing the wheelbarrow.
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This was a dangerous act
The stunt was dangerous as nothing protected the trainer from the bear; rather, they were both in the red ring together with full exposure.
The audience was also a smaller one, making such a situation alarming to them.
The bear dropped the wheelbarrow
What happened during the performance was that while the bear had been walking with the wheelbarrow towards the trainer as planned, it dropped it and started attacking him.
The trainer fell on the floor with the bear on top.
The audience watched in horror
The terrified audience in the intimate arena, some of which included children, began running in fear.
Of course, because this was an entertainment performance that many would have recorded for memories, some kept the cameras rolling to film the attack.
The performance was in a small ring
Because the stunt was at a smaller circus in Olonets, Russia, and nothing was separating the bear and the trainer from the audience where children were sitting with their parents, everyone rightfully panicked when the bear attacked its trainer.
What happened next was crisis management
After the animal attacked its handler on the mat and swung at him, another crew member interfered by kicking the bear on its shoulder to stop it from attacking the trainer.
The bear had held the man in its mouth.
No one was hurt by the attack
Thankfully, neither the circus crew who were brawling with the bear nor any member of the audience was hurt by this shocking incident — not even the bear.
A representative from the circus team confirmed this to reporters.
The act would no longer take place
The circus spokeswoman said, “We made the decision to part ways with the artist following the incident, and the act will no longer be featured on the program.”
She also added, “Nothing serious has happened; the bear and the artist are both fine; no one killed the bear because it was not at fault.”
The incident has resurfaced on social media
While it may have happened five years ago, this bear attack has recently been recirculated on Reddit.
One commented on the morals behind animals in circuses saying, “People when they abuse animals, and find out, that the animals in fact, hold grudges.”
