An ordinary circus show in Russia turned into a terrifying spectacle when a hoverboard-riding bear suddenly attacked its trainer.
During the circus chaos that took place in Biysk, Russia, the bear gave the crowd more than they bargained for by turning on its trainer in the middle of a performance.
Trigger warning: This article contains details and video footage that might be disturbing to some.
Highlights
- A hoverboard-riding bear named Donut attacked her trainer Sergei during a circus show in Biysk, Russia.
- Despite being pinned to the ground, Sergei continued the performance after the bear calmed down.
- Neither Donut nor Sergei was hurt in the incident, and the show continued as if nothing happened.
The brown bear, charmingly named Donut, was performing a balancing act on a hoverboard when she snapped. Weighing an impressive 35 stone, she suddenly pinned her tamer, Sergei Prichinich, 48, to the ground.
Hundreds of spectators were left stunned, including wide-eyed children and parents.
A circus performance in Biysk, Russia, took a dangerous turn when a hoverboard-riding bear attacked her trainer in the middle of the show
Image credits: @BSKGRAM / Telegram
Image credits: @BSKGRAM / Telegram
The situation quickly escalated as Sergei struggled to free himself, with Donut gnawing on the stick he used to guide her.
The audience gasped, and the tension in the air was palpable. A fellow circus official tried to distract the bear by poking her with another stick from behind a safety barrier.
Miraculously, the predatory animal’s mood shifted as quickly as it had darkened.
The bear calmly walked away from her trainer, who, in a display of nerves of steel, got up and continued the show as if nothing happened.
The 35-stone bear, charmingly named Donut, pinned her trainer, Sergei Prichinich, to the ground and left hundreds of spectators shocked
Image credits: @BSKGRAM / Telegram
Astonishingly, neither Donut nor Sergei was hurt during the ordeal.
“There performance continued,” a circus spokesperson said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
The audience witnessed Sergei wrapping up the act by giving the bear a kiss.
According to Nikita Mikhailov, head of the Moretti Circus, the trainer kept his cool throughout the attack and continued the performance without any sign of panic.
Despite the frightening encounter, Donut quickly calmed down, and the trainer finished the act as if nothing had happened
“Towards the end of the act, the bear snapped at Sergei and wrestled with him,” but the trainer "didn't resist on purpose," the circus head said.
He "waited for the bear to calm down, got up, continued the routine with her, sealed it all with a kiss, and that was it — the show continued as usual," Nikita continued. “This is an animal, and they can behave differently, they may not like something, they can express their emotions this way. Every trainer understands this.”
For years, the ethics of using animals in circus performances has been a hotly debated topic. Critics argue that forcing wild animals to perform tricks for entertainment is inhumane.
The trainer "didn't resist on purpose" and "waited for the bear to calm down," the circus head said
As awareness increases about animal rights, the call to end these performances is becoming louder. People are becoming increasingly opposed to the suffering of animals in such environments.
Russian animal rights advocate Yuri Koretskikh has been at the forefront of efforts to ban live animals in circuses in the country.
“While modern world circus art is rapidly moving towards humanity, banning the use of animals in circuses, the Russian circus lobby is actively resisting progress, defending its commercial interests,” he said.