An 11-year-old boy was reportedly mauled to death by two brown bears at a Russian zoo.
The boy, identified as Nikita, entered the bear enclosure in order to grab a picture with the two bears at a Sochi zoo in Russia, according to a report published Thursday by the Daily Mail.
Boy, 11, mauled to death by bears after ‘showing off to impress girls’ in front of cage https://t.co/ZFSJYE35MQ pic.twitter.com/6AiT1wcLxH
— Daily Star (@dailystar) August 6, 2020
The bear enclosure was unlocked and two girls watched the incident occur, per the report.
“He opened the gate, went in, wanting to take a picture,” one witness said, according to the Daily Mail. “He slapped the bears’ paws to show how cool he was.”
“They were tossing him around like a ball,” the resident added, per the outlet. “He was all broken.”
A staffer reportedly ended up shooting and killing the two bears. (RELATED: Siberian Tiger Mauls Zookeeper To Death Right In Front Of Visitors)
“It is so scary what has happened,” the boy’s great-aunt Evgenia Mikhailova told a local outlet, per the Daily Mail.
An investigation into the zoo owners was opened and the Mayor of Sochi, Alexey Kopaygorodsky, banned mini-zoos following the death of the boy, Daily Mail reported.
“All such mini-zoos, cages and aviaries must be closed,” Kopaygorodsky said, according to the outlet. “They cannot ensure the safety of our children.”