Screaming audience members flee as Russian circus bear mauls trainer

Trainer blames joint pain for attack

A Russian circus trainer was mauled by a bear during a performance.

Families scrambled to gather their children and belongings to flee the Anshlag Tent Circus which had no barriers between the audience and stage for the show in the Karelia region of north west Russia.

As part of the "Bow-legged and the Wheelbarrow" section of the show, trainer Ruslan Solodyuk ordered the giant brown bear called Yashka to push a wheelbarrow whilst standing on two feet.

But when he grabbed a chain around the 600lb creature's neck, the bear started to maul him.

An assistant rushed to help, kicking the animal, but the but the bear appeared unfazed and carried on with the attack.

Yashka was eventually subdued by electric shock.

Mum-of-one Galina Gurieva, 27, who filmed the incident told local media: “My knees are still trembling. I was shocked there was no fence for the safety of spectators, given the size of the bear.”

Circus manager Lyudmila Misnik said that spectators had provoked the bear by ignoring a request to turn off the flash before taking pictures with their mobile phones. She said both the trainer and the bear were now doing fine.

Ruslan Solodyuk, the bear’s mauled handler, said the 16-year-old was on his last tour as a performer and was not feeling well at the time of the attack.

He told the Russian site Daily Storm that the bear had never been violent before and that its aggression was a result of old age and joint pains, which get worse in the autumn.

Russian police and safety officials have launched an investigation into the incident.

Travelling circuses with live animal performances continue to be popular in Russia despite growing campaigns for bans or curbs on such shows.