BIG TOP RAMPAGE
Horrifying moment roller skating circus bear drops act to MAUL trainer in front of shocked kids during performance
Circus management later said the bear was being 'playful' in an effort to cover up the attack
THIS is the horrifying moment a roller skating circus bear stops to maul its trainer in front of shocked kids during a performance.
The humiliated animal hit back at its cruel trainer as they performed beneath a big top in Russia as spectators screamed in terror.
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Female bear Dzhema was being forced to do tricks for the ironically named "Happiness Show" at the Mash Circus in Obninsk, in the Kaluga region, on June 1.
Shocking audience video footage shows trainer Oleg Krasov forcing Dzhema to sit in a chair with a pair of rollerskates tied to her rear paws.
He then grabs her fur forcefully and pulls her up sharply on her hind legs in order to get her moving.
But as Krasov contemptuously turns his back on Dzhem, she sees an opportunity to get her revenge.
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Dropping to all fours, Dzhem charges at her trainer, flooring him.
The powerful bear lands a flurry of massive blows with her front paws as parents rush their screaming children from the arena.
The footage ends with Dzhema towering over her stricken keeper as circus workers try to stop her.
Astonishingly, and perhaps unfortunately in Dzhem's case, local media reports said that Krasov survived without any serious injury.
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Circus management later tried to pass off the attack as "normal".
They said in a statement: "She did not hurt him at all. She was actually playing with him.
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"These are her normal actions. She loves him."
Bears are kept in travelling circuses in many parts of the world, particularly in Russia, but mistreatment can often lead to them attacking and even killing their trainers or other circus performers.
In August 2022, a circus bear savaged a trainer in front of screaming children after living a life of agony with joint pain.
The crazed beast was seen going wild in the Russian circus ring, attacking the man as children and parents fled the tent.
Just a month before, a brown bear attacked a ringmaster after being forced to perform tricks at another cruel Russian circus.
The raging bear suddenly became agitated and lunged at the circus performer during a show packed with kids and their parents in the city of Blagoveshchensk.
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