RUSSA. (THECOUNT) — A circus bear attacked its handler during a show in Russia on Wednesday, with horrified spectators sitting nearby.
The traveling show took place in the town of Olonets in the Republic of Karelia, a region in northwest Russia, according to state-run news agency TASS.
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The bear, which was muzzled, had been performing in a circus tent full of seated spectators, including children, in an act called “Clubfoot and the Garden Wheelbarrow,” according to state broadcaster Vesti News. Footage from the scene shows the bear pushing a wheelbarrow, then following its handler across the mat, walking upright. Then it lunges, knocking the handler to the ground.
A spokeswoman from the circus said the bear belonged to the handler, and that the act had been cut from the show, reports ABC15.
“After (the incident), we decided to part with the artist, and the act will be removed from the program,” she said, according to TASS. “There is nothing serious, the artist is alright, the bear is alright, nobody killed the bear because the animal is not to blame.”
WARNING: GRAPHIC
Screaming audience members flee as Russian circus bear mauls trainer in chilling attack
DETAILS: https://t.co/5WM3hws3mU pic.twitter.com/0kfzHKRdJh
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Geo quick facts: Olonets is a town and the administrative center of Olonetsky District of the Republic of Karelia, Russia, located on the Olonka River to the east of Lake Ladoga. Population: 9,056; 10,240; 11,888 – Wikipedia.