In Russia, the audience watched as a wild bear suddenly clawed its female trainer during a performance.
Footage shows the bear entering during the Harlequin Travelling Circus in Berezovsky, Kemerovo dressed in a scarf and hat.
However, the bear shockingly made a dash towards the female performer and clawed at her legs.
The bear can be seen scratching at the trainer and holding onto her foot and ankle before it is grabbed by the neck and pulled away by two male performers.
A terrified audience including children and their parents froze as two other trainers tried to desperately pull the grizzly away from the woman.
The shocking incident took place just meters away from children and their parents who had no barriers or fencing protecting them from the wild bear.
Despite the bear’s violent behavior, the show went on. But it attacked her once again as she swung a hoop in front of it.
According to local reports, the incident was the third attack by the same bear. The show continued as planned every time like nothing happened, and the blonde trainer did not seek medical attention after the attack.
Reports also said the particular circus is famous for dressing bears in human clothes, with some wearing tutus, and “prides itself on humane training of the animals”.
The circus guarantees viewers “an unforgettable large-scale performance with a wide variety of animals” to “surprise every city in Russia”.
“The artists present a symbiosis of training, clownery, and high-class stunts in the circus ring,” the website reads.
Tickets for the event were reportedly priced at $7.
The Russian Investigative Committee is investigating the incident to check whether there were safety breaches during the performance.
The Harlequin Travelling Circus later denied that there had been an attack, despite the video evidence.
“There was no incident whatsoever,” a spokesman told Mash Siberia. “Simply speaking, bears are now in mating season.”
Irina Novozhilova, of animal rights group VITA, has called for a ban of all circuses with live animals, which remain extremely popular across Russia.
“No circus conditions will be humane for one simple reason,” Novozhilova said. “Training goes hand in hand with cruelty. Circuses are always cruel beyond limits. And circuses with animals should be banned.”
This isn’t an isolated incident of animals attacking circus performers in Russia.
In Mau, a terrifying video showed the moment a lioness mauled a circus trainer in front of a crowd that also included children.
Maxim Orlov, the trainer, was performing in the Ural Travelling Circus when he was mauled by a lioness named Vega.
A pregnant woman reportedly suffered an epileptic seizure from shock after the show in Russia descended into mayhem.
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