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A 23-year-old man jumped in a bear enclosure at a zoo in Poland and wrestled with the animal. The man was charged with animal cruelty and disturbing the peace for not wearing a face mask, a COVID-19 regulation in the country.
The zoo has recently reopened after Poland eased its lockdown measures amid the COVID-19 crisis, The Independent reported last Sunday, May 24.
The unidentified man, believed to be drunk, was caught on camera inside the bear sanctuary in the Warsaw Zoo, as seen on a certain @wnukers’ Twitter post last Thursday, May 21.
The video showed the man standing on top of a rocky formation, which houses Sabrina the bear, beyond the zoo’s barrier for visitors.
When Sabrina approached the intruder, he panicked and ran away, jumping into the water surrounding the exhibit. Sabrina the bear followed the man around as he tried to swim away from her.
Eventually, the bear was able to jump into the water then wrestled with the man. He held on to the bear’s neck and tried to push the creature down the water.
Niezły świr pic.twitter.com/UETZOJ6NIh
— Wnukers (@wnukers) May 21, 2020
Firefighters eventually arrived to rescue the man from the bear enclosure, as per report. He was sentenced to 20 hours per month of community service. The man also faces a fine between $1,200 to $7,300 (over P60,700 to almost P370,000) and was made to promise to swear off alcohol.
A spokesperson of the zoo, Ann Karczewska, explained that the man was lucky that there was only Sabrina in the enclosure. Had it been one of the zoo’s younger or more aggressive bears, the intruder could have had more serious injuries, she said.
“She (Sabrina) used to belong to a circus and is accustomed to the presence of people, but she absolutely did not expect a human attack,” she was quoted as saying. “Sabina, an old bear who was attacked by an adult man, physically came out of this event unscathed, but she is very stressed.” Cha Lino/JB
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