A man jumped inside a polar bear pit Wednesday at the Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark, forcing zookeepers to fire rubber bullets at the 621-kilogram (1,369-pound) bear so they could rescue him.
The man leaped into the enclosure shortly after noon as guests, including children, were watching the 10-year-old bear.
Zoo staffers at first yelled to distract the animal from his potential prey before others with firearms arrived, firing rubber bullets to get the huge animal to back off. Once the bear returned to its cage, zoo employees entered the enclosure to rescue the intruder.
“He walked up to the male bear of his own free will” but was able to get away with “only superficial wounds,” said park manager Steffen Straede, who was visibly upset at the incident.
The man, reportedly in his twenties, was not identified and his motive for entering the enclosure was unclear. He was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The zoo has no plans to make any changes to the enclosures following Wednesday’s incident, Straede added.
In July 2012, Siberian tigers fatally mauled a 21-year-old Afghan-born man inside an enclosure at the same zoo. The Copenhagen Zoo also made international headlines last year when it killed a giraffe for inbreeding reasons, then dissected it and fed it to lions in front of visitors, including children.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
This guy wins today’s Darwin award. I guess this guy thought that if he tried to reason with the bear and make friends that he could show how tame and harmless these animals are. Some people are too stupid for their own good–this guy fits that description.
What is it with people refusing to think that wild, predatory, animals are, in fact, WILD PREDATORY ANIMALS? What that means is that they might not immediately attack you for food, if they have just been fed. HOWEVER, that does NOT mean that you should approach them, as they might interpret that as a threat and make short work of you. You should also NEVER run from a wild predatory animal as they are programmed to give chase and will also make short work of you. Just back away slowly. People can coexist with some fearsome animals–such as black bears, for example, because they are not very aggressive. Even then one needs to be respectful of their power. In the case of polar bears, however, there is NO way to ever “live in peace and harmony” with one, as they are extremely aggressive. They look at humans as a food source–just as they do seals. The Inuit in the far north of Canada understand well the ferocity of these animals and carry high powered rifles for defending against them.
Hmm. Clearly, that bear needs more “sensitivity training” – from the Siberian tigers LOL!
Somebody should stop insulting real disabled people, ‘moron’ indeed