Caught On Camera: Man Enters Bear Enclosure At Zoo, Tries To Drown Animal

A man who was allegedly drunk broke into a bear enclosure at a zoo in Poland and tried to drown the animal. The shocking incident was captured on camera by an onlooker and the resulting video, which is now going viral on social media, has left viewers horrified. According to the Independent, the 23-year-old man jumped into the bear's enclosure at Warsaw Zoo and tried to wrestle with the elderly animal. 

Footage of the incident shows the intruder jumping into a moat that separates the animal enclosure from visitors to the zoo, which recently reopened after the coronavirus lockdown in the country. When Sabina the bear goes into the water after him, the panicked man is seen trying to push her head underwater. 

Luckily, the bear was not harmed during the fight, though she was left shaken by it. The man was later rescued by firefighters and taken to the hospital with minor injuries and cuts to his hand.

Watch the video below:

Niezły świr pic.twitter.com/UETZOJ6NIh

— Wnukers (@wnukers) May 21, 2020

The intruder's actions have been widely criticised on social media and by the zoo. 

Zoo spokesman Ann Karczewska said the man was lucky that he only encountered Sabina in the bear enclosure and none of the younger bears. 

"Sabina, an old bear who was attacked by an adult man, physically came out of this event unscathed, but she is very stressed," said Ms Karczewska, according to The Sun. 

"She used to belong to a circus and is accustomed to the presence of people, but she absolutely did not expect a human attack.

"After the event, she sat in the water growling nervously until her carers came to look after her."

In a statement shared on Facebook, Warsaw Zoo said that it is now moving Sabina and another one of its elderly bears to a safer enclosure after the "hooligan prank".

The intruder, meanwhile, has been charged with animal cruelty and disturbing the peace - and for not wearing a face mask. He has been asked to pay a fine of 170 pounds.