Man seriously injured in bear attack after climbing into zoo enclosure

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:49 AM on 22nd November 2009

A man was left seriously wounded after climbing into a bear enclosure in a Swiss zoo yesterday.

The 25-year-man climbed onto a wall surrounding the BärenPark (Bear Park) in the city of Bern, Switzerland, before falling 13ft into the enclosure, police said.

He was then attacked by four-year-old bear Finn, who caused severe injuries to the man's head and one of his legs, before a nearby policeman shot the creature - injuring it and forcing it to retreat into a cave.

The other bear in the 6,000 metres squared enclosure, Finn's 10-year-old sister Bjoerk, was not involved in the attack.

Both the man and Finn are currently being treated for their respective injuries - the bear at the park and the man at a nearby hospital.

The Bear Park was opened on October 25th, and provides both Finn and Bjoerk with hill slopes, grasslands, a cave and access to the nearby Aare River.

Prior to the Bear Park, bears were kept in traditional Bärengraben (Bear Pits), which became a top tourist attraction in the city of Bern.

However, after the death of 28-year-old Pedro, the last remaining bear from the pits, in May, it was decided the new bears should be given somewhere more habitable in which to live.

Bern city councillor Barbara Hayoz, whose local nickname is the 'bear mother' thanks to her enthusiasm for the Bear Park project, said shortly after announcing plans for the new enclosure: 'They will be able to live like real bears - in the middle of the city.'

Bern is famous for its love of bears, stemming from the founder of the town Berchtold van Zähringen shooting a bear upon his arrival in Bern in 1160.

The city name translates as 'bear', while the creature also became the town's coat of arms emblem.

Bern also has many traditions revolving around the bear - from presenting cubs born during the winter to the public in a special Easter ceremony to starting their annual Bernese carnival with a 'freeing of the bear' opening, involving a lifelike figure of a bear being released from one of the city gates.

Only one of Bern's bear traditions has changed, the feeding of the animals.

After Finn and Bjoerk were transferred into their new home from Bern's Daehlhoelzli Zoo, officials decided the public would no longer be able to feed the bears due to health and safety issues.