Wild video shows drunk zoo visitor wrestling bear in exhibit
by Jackie SaloWild video shows a drunk zoo visitor in Poland jumping into a bear enclosure and wrestling one of the animals, according to a report.
The 23-year-old man was arrested for brawling the large brown bear named Sabrina at the Warsaw Zoo — and faces additional penalties because he was wasn’t wearing a mask, The Independent reported.
In the footage, the man, who was believed to be intoxicated, is seen Thursday already inside the exhibit as the female bear, Sabrina, approaches him.
He then jumps into a moat inside the enclosure to escape Sabrina’s advances — but the animal follows into the water after him.
As a crowd watches, the pair fight each other in the water for about a minute with the man at one point dunking the bear underwater.
He then pushes the animal away before finally finding refuge on the top of an artificial island.
Emergency crews responded to the scene to remove the man from the enclosure, the Independent reported.
He was arrested and charged with animal cruelty, disturbing the peace and not wearing a face mask under the country’s coronavirus guidelines, according to the report.
The intruder has been sentenced to 20 hours of community service per month and agreed to give up alcohol, the outlet reported.
He also faces a fine of between £1,000 ($1,219) and £6,000 ($7,316) for the bizarre encounter, the report said.
A zoo spokesperson said that the man was fortunate to have only encountered Sabrina, an ex-circus animal used to humans.
“She used to belong to a circus and is accustomed to the presence of people, but she absolutely did not expect a human attack,” Ann Karczewska told the outlet.