Russian circus bear kills manager (ice skating bear)

[WriteDown]

Source: BBC

An ice-skating bear with a touring Russian circus has killed a circus manager and seriously injured a trainer in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek.

Kyrgyz officials said the bear turned on the manager, 25-year-old Dmitry Potapov, during a rehearsal.

The bear, who had skates on at the time, severely mauled another circus worker who tried to rescue the manager.

Kyrgyz police shot and killed the bear when they arrived on the scene. It is not clear what caused the attack.

The five-year-old bear attacked Mr Potapov, dragging him across the ice and leaving him with fatal injuries.

A 29-year-old circus employee who tried to rescue Mr Potapov was badly injured and is in a critical condition, said Kyrgyz doctor Gulnara Tashibekova.

The director of the circus arena in Bishkek said Russian circus workers dragged the two men away from the bear and closed the arena's exits until the police arrived.

Bears on ice are common in Russian circuses. Some are equipped with helmets and sticks and trained to play hockey


Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8320849.stm

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Did they ever think that maybe the bear did not like to ice skate?

[MNDemNY]

1. Bear-1, Manager-0

Game over.

[SoCalDem]

48. Bear- 0 ...Manager - 0 ..(they killed the bear)

Perhaps bears were not "made" so they could ice skate in circuses..maybe bears are meant to be wild creatures in the woods..

[NOW tense]

2. Go Bears n/t

[closeupready]

10. How bout dem Bears?

:D

[Voice for Peace]

3. that bear was probably just fed up with humans. this should be a darwin award. nt

[Jackpine Radical]

14. More likely it was trying to become

fed up with humans.

[Voice for Peace]

44. haha yeah.. tired of not being able to eat them, sick of iceskating around them

[Deep13]

4. I'm sorry there were injuries and that someone was killed, but what did they expect?

Bears are wild, unpredictable and potentially dangerous animals.

[saigon68]

6. Very Very unreliable

[BonnieJW]

16. Are you actually saying

that bears weren't meant to ice skate?? Next you'll probably say that elephants weren't born to perform in circuses either.

[Deep13]

17. I don't think any critter was MEANT for anything.

That implies divine purpose and I don't believe in that stuff.

I mean, bears act like--well--bears and are too unpredictable to expect them to play hockey without getting pissed off and killing someone.

[WriteDown]

51. Are fish not meant to swim?

:evilgrin:

[jbnow]

19. "Bears on ice are common in Russian circuses. Some are equipped

with helmets and sticks and trained to play hockey"

If that is true and if attacks haven't happened they probably expected not to be attacked.

[ieoeja]

28. So the thread title should be "hockey player turns violent"? (nt)

[n2doc]

5. Bear- Go to the Penalty box - Now!

[DavidDvorkin]

7. Once again, DU responds to a death

with jokes at the expense of the victim.

[Deep13]

8. Well, SOME of DU is doing that. nt

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. Yep. I feel real sorry for the victim.

He should have never been forced to perform on ice skates, and when he objects he gets shot.

[Jokerman]

13. +1

[Codeine]

33. +2

[SammyWinstonJack]

47. +1 nt

[Rebubula]

18. Victim?

I would focus on the life of captivity and abuse that the animals endured.

I liken this to a slave rising up against an oppressive slave owner.

Your sensitivity is noted. I would avoid the Internet for awhile...it can be a pretty brutal place - sort of like a circus.

[DavidDvorkin]

21. False assumption

I've always hated what's done to circus animals. That doesn't excuse jokes at the expense of the man who was killed, who was indeed a victim.

[frebrd]

25. How do you know that?........

It happened during a rehearsal, so there's a good chance the kid was mistreating the animal.

[Joe Chi Minh]

22. The bear will almost certainly be dead by now for acting in accordance with his

true nature - which is not that of a circus clown.

On the other hand, I admire and feel for the now critically-ill assistant who risked his life in no uncertain terms, and the families of the men.

[Codeine]

31. Russian police killed the bear. nt

[chatnoir]

41. ..

;(

[Igel]

43. In other words,

you're saying it's the bear that gets the Darwin award.

It acted in a way that ensures it will have no progeny.

[Joe Chi Minh]

50. A Monsanto Terminator version, even.

[ieoeja]

29. Lighten up, Francis.

[Codeine]

30. The victim was the bear. nt

[rayofreason]

9. Russian bear = danger n/t

[Lu Galasso]

12. Captivity

stop putting bears in captivity or this is going to continue.

[Robb]

15. Bear was just responding to a bad icing call

...as trained.

[LeftHander]

20. Bear Speaks Out On Forced Ice Skating

"I was in a ice skating troop. The hours were brutal. I mean, like, we...bears that is
are just not engineered for ice skating. I know there were a lot bears I skated with that
would do the same thing to the trainer if given a chance.
I mean we are wild animals for chrissakes. Not Brian-fucking-Boitano."

[Berry Cool]

23. Yeah, but it's still a sad story all around.

I think it's terrible when wild animals get abused, but it's not great when people get killed by them either. I guess it's the risk they take because the animals are wild and will defend themselves, but I refrain from dancing up and down and making jokes.

If only people didn't bother trying to make wild animals other than what they are.

I read a book once by the Canadian skater Toller Cranston, who said he was in an ice show once that had a chimpanzee on skates. Said the big thing with a chimp on skates is that once it starts spinning, it just keeps going. Doesn't know when to stop.

[Plucketeer]

26. I simply can't bear to read about this any more.

The bare-nekkid truth is, only a fool would trust a wild animal to not occassionally revert to it's non-domestic tendancies. :crazy:

[Codeine]

34. A grizzly tale, to be sure. nt

[LiberalLovinLug]

24. Laugh away boys

Laugh away

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0nL7oJY70s&feature=related

[joeybee12]

27. Why is anyone surprised...a wild animal will always be a wild animal...

...sorry the guy died, but i'm also sorry the bear had a shitty life.

[Codeine]

32. Some people really are shocked to discover bears are bears!

"Awwww, what a cute widdle bear!"

CHOMP!

[Codeine]

35. What would Brian Boitano do?

[joeybee12]

36. I'm sure he'd kick an ass or two!

Cuz that's what Brian Boitano would do!

[undeterred]

37. There have been times I felt like killing a manager...

I guess its just instinct.

[sofa king]

38. The bear is facing at least three minutes in the penalty box.

[amandabeech]

42. Five minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct,

and a double minor for tripping and cross-checking.

[Schema Thing]

39. I'm the Star of this show, and if I want Salmon flavored M&M's

I GET Salmon flavored M&M's, dammit!

[htuttle]

40. ...and some days, the bear gets you.

[AngryAmish]

45. Chimps can ice skate, too

?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=17A4AD9FDB9CF1934B869679A269F9CC0082312C7718EE9F26FD13ED7B73D4BC

[mitchum]

46. Now THAT'S the kind of labor vs management action of which I approve

[mule_train]

49. i think the bear had alwasy been ticked off about that skirt they made it wear

all the other bears were making fun of him