Polar Bear Attacks Cage Trespasser

Polar bears are incredibly adorable, and doing a spectacular job as mascots for climate change issues, but jeez, people—they’re the biggest land predator on Earth! A woman at the Berlin Zoo failed to understand this salient point this past Friday when she climbed a fence and entered the polar bear enclosure, during feeding time. Naturally, the bears were hungry, angry, or both.

After she fell into their moat, one adult polar bear went after this bonus mealtime morsel, biting the woman several times. The following video isn’t graphic, but it is terrifying (unless your idea of a great time includes getting surrounded by starving bears in a murky pool):

Miraculously, the woman survived, but she’s being treated for extensive injuries at a Berlin hospital. So far, no one knows why the woman entered the polar bear habitat, but in addition to a severe mauling, the woman got a ticket: Cops issued a citation for trespassing, which I imagine she’ll get to after paying the doctors for stitching her back together.

I can’t say this enough times: They might look soft n’ cuddly (and indeed, they are), but DO NOT attempt to hug the polar bears! They also have 42 razor-sharp teeth meant for shearing flesh—namely, yours if you get too close.

—Ted Alvarez

Polar bear attacks woman at Berlin Zoo (CNN)