Keepers fire rubber bullets to keep animal away from intruder, who escapes with superficial wounds

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

A man jumped inside a polar bear pit at Copenhagen zoo in Denmark, forcing zookeepers to fire rubber bullets at the 620kg (98st) animal so they could rescue the man.

The man leapt into the enclosure shortly after noon on Wednesday as visitors were watching the 10-year-old bear. Zoo staff yelled to distract the animal, before others with firearms arrived, firing rubber bullets. Once the bear had returned to its cage, zoo employees rescued the intruder.

“He walked up to the male bear of his own free will” and got away with superficial wounds, said the park manager, Steffen Straede.

The man was not identified and his motive was unclear. He was taken to hospital for treatment. Copenhagen Zoo had no plans to make changes to the enclosures after the incident, Straede added.

In July 2012, Siberian tigers fatally mauled a 21-year-old Afghan-born man inside an enclosure at the same zoo. Copenhagen zoo also made international headlines last year when it killed a giraffe for inbreeding reasons, then dissected it and fed it to lions in front of visitors, including children.

