This is the moment four bears savagely killed a wolf in their shared enclosure in a Dutch zoo.

The footage, filmed by a shocked visitor, shows the brown bears tearing the she-wolf apart in a pool of water at Dierenrijk zoo in Mierlo on Monday.

Onlookers are heard gasping as the bears let out ferocious growls.

This is the moment four bears savagely killed a wolf in their shared enclosure in a Dutch zoo

Shocking video shows the brown bears tearing the she-wolf apart in a pool of water at Dierenrijk zoo in Mierlo on Monday

Two other wolves desperately tried to distract the bears but were powerless to stop the killing.

Stunned zookeepers say they have no idea why the bears attacked.

Bears and wolves share the same habitat in the wild and several zoos across Europe, including Woburn Safari Park in Bedfordshire, have housed them together without any problems.

Dierenrijk zoo said this is the first time anything like this has happened and it will not separate the animals which have lived together for more than a year.

The visitor who filmed the shocking killing said: 'I did not notice what was happening until I started filming.

'Fifteen minutes before we had been looking at the bears and took a nice picture of one sitting on the bench right in front of the window.

'Then we saw the wolves running wildly towards the water. The bears were already in there with one of the wolves.

'At first we thought they were playing until we saw the wolf's head. Then we took our baby away.

'There were several children who were screaming.

'After about four or five minutes the caretakers came and told us that they were trying to lure away the bears.

'Then we left because the wolf was just in front of the window with his guts out.'

Two other wolves desperately tried to distract the bears and stop the killing but were kept at bay by one of the bears

Dierenrijk zoo said this is the first time anything like this has happened and it will not separate the animals

A spokesman said: 'The animals are put together to challenge them like this to play with each other.

'It's a piece of enrichment for the animal kingdom. What happened Monday is really a one-time incident. The animals have always lived in good harmony with each other.

'It's always gone well. We decided years ago to put the wolves and brown bears together. That's good for the animals and we also see no reason to break them up now.'