Whipsnade Zoo: Two bears criticized for “threat to human life” after attacking wild boar during escape from enclosure | UK News

Two brown bears who escaped from their enclosure at Whipsnade Zoo and attacked a wild boar were shot for fear of an “immediate threat to human life.”

The couple made their way past a fallen tree that had fallen in high winds and formed a ‘bridge’ between the enclosure fence and the fence of the nearby section of wild boar.

It was then that they attacked the male boar, injuring the animal, and the bosses at the Dunstable site in Bedfordshire said they had no choice but to euthanize the two bears. . They would have been shot.

The zoo’s chief curator, Malcolm Fitzpatrick, said in a message to staff: “Brown bears are powerful and dangerous predators, our first priority is safety.

“We must quickly make decisions informed by our experience and expertise to protect our people, our guests and our other animals.”

He said tranquilizers were not an option as they would have taken at least 20 minutes to work, “during this time animals can become unpredictable and aggressive as the adrenaline rushes through them.”

“It’s a risk we couldn’t take,” he said. “We had to intervene immediately to make sure the bears did not come out of the boar enclosure, which has a low fence.”

A third brown bear did not leave the compound and was called to its inner, secure den while the fallen tree was removed.

An investigation will be conducted into the incident, which occurred on Friday morning.

Mr Fitzpatrick added: “As zookeepers and animal keepers, we train ourselves to deal with this situation through regular and rigorous exercise – but we always hope we never have to face it.

“I am devastated by the outcome of this morning’s incident, but I have no doubts that our actions have avoided further loss of life.”

He explained, “Our experienced zookeepers, who were on the scene within minutes, quickly assessed …