Images capture the frightening moment when a bear performing in a circus attacked a handler during a show.
Handler Sergei Prichinich, 48, was performing with the bear, which was standing on a hoverboard, when the attack occurred.
The video shows the moment the female bear suddenly charged at Prichinich, knocking him over during the performance in the Altay Kray region of central Russia.
The brown bear, named Donut, then pinned Prichinich to the ground and seemed to bite at a stick he was holding.
Donut, who weighs over 490 pounds, kept Prichinich pinned down while another trainer attempted to intervene by poking a stick through the bars.
After a tense few moments, Donut stepped back and freed Prichinich, who managed to stand up.
Donut appeared to calm down and walked away from Prichinich calmly after the attack.
The Moretti Circus has refuted claims that the trainer was hospitalized after the incident, stating that the performance continued as scheduled.
Both the trainer and the bear were unharmed in the incident, and Prichinich stayed composed throughout.
Nikita Mikhailov, the head of the Moretti Circus, stated: “Near the end of the act, the bear lunged at Sergei and engaged in a struggle with him.”
Mikhailov added that Prichinich “didn’t resist intentionally” and instead “waited for the bear to calm down, got up, resumed the routine with her, sealed it all with a kiss, and that was it—the show went on as usual.”
The circus head also mentioned: “This is an animal, and their behavior can be unpredictable. They might not like something or express their emotions in different ways.”
“Every trainer is aware of this.”
Audience members watched in shock as Prichinich was pinned down.
The incident could have easily been fatal for the trainer, but he stayed calm throughout, even as Donut walked away.
In Russia, the use of animals is still permitted, with circuses featuring them in a range of performances.
Another performance featured two bears dressed in shorts, “boxing” each other on their hind legs within a makeshift ring.
Russian animal rights campaigner Yuri Koretskikh is leading efforts to ban the use of animals in circuses.
He said, “While modern circus art is rapidly advancing towards more humane practices by banning the use of animals, the Russian circus lobby is actively resisting this progress to protect its commercial interests.”
This is despite suggestions that audiences ‘no longer want to see animals suffer in circuses’.
