SHOCK VIDEO: Circus Bear Snaps and Mauls Handler in Front of Screaming Audience
The reason why the controversial acts with wild animals are so popular in circuses around the world is the inherent danger that the handlers face even with the most well-trained beasts.
And sometimes we are reminded of just how real this danger is.
The Moretti Circus was having what was supposed to be just another working day in Russia when the ever-present danger showed its terrifying face.
Russian trainer Sergei Prichinich almost lost his life during a performance with a female brown bear with the lovely name of ‘Donut’.
New York Post reported:
“’Towards the end of the act, the bear snapped at Sergei and wrestled with him’, Nikita Mikhailov, head of the Moretti Circus, told reporters after the incident. ‘Their performance continued’.
The bear, weighing over 490 pounds, was riding a hoverboard during her skit when she suddenly snapped at the trainer.
Within seconds, Prichinich was pinned to the ground for about half a minute until a worker outside the cage poked the bear long enough for the trainer to land back on his feet.”
Even though he had just escaped death, Prichinich continued the show.
He waited for the bear to calm down and continued the routine, even ‘sealing it with a kiss’.
“The bear can be seen tackling the trainer and swatting at him as he desperately tries to keep the beast at bay by holding a bar between the animal’s maw and himself.”
A circus employee outside the cage jabbed at the bear, so it eased up.
Boss Mikhailov praised trainer Prichinich for ‘keeping his cool’ in face of such a terrifying attack.
“’This is an animal, and they can behave differently, they may not like something, they can express their emotions this way’, Mikhailov said. ‘Every trainer understands this’.”
Read more:
You can email Paul Serran here, and read more of Paul Serran's articles here.