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Black Bear Lunges At Trainer During Live Show Prep At Hangzhou Safari Park — Staff Intervene

02:44 AM, 12/09/2025
Black Bear Lunges At Trainer During Live Show Prep At Hangzhou Safari Park — Staff Intervene

During preparations for a live show at Hangzhou Safari Park on Dec. 6, a black bear named Xiong Er lunged at handler Zhou Jiazhen. Staff used improvised tools to intervene and ultimately carried the bear offstage, suspending the performance. Zhou, who was bitten, said the bear appeared to be after his bag of carrots and did not intend to attack. The park has moved Xiong Er to a larger mountain feeding area and removed him from future behavioral displays; no serious injuries were reported.

Visitors at Hangzhou Safari Park in Zhejiang province, about two hours south of Shanghai, were startled on Dec. 6 when a black bear lunged at its handler while being led toward a live performance.

Video of the incident, shared by Newsflare and cited by the Associated Press, shows multiple park employees rushing in to separate the bear from the trainer. Staff used improvised objects — including a basketball hoop and backboard, a stack of stools and a large bamboo stick — to push the animal away. One onlooker even attempted to pull the bear off the handler while holding a parrot.

The handler, identified as Zhou Jiazhen, was bitten during the encounter but managed to break free. He then tried to guide the bear, named Xiong Er, backstage; the bear lunged again and staff eventually carried it offstage. Park managers announced the performance would be suspended.

Zhou, who said he raised Xiong Er from a young age, told reporters the bear appeared to be reaching for his bag of carrots rather than trying to attack him. "If it really wanted to attack, I wouldn't be standing here now," he said, according to news reports.

Following the incident, Hangzhou Safari Park moved Xiong Er to a larger feeding area in the nearby mountains and removed the bear from future behavioral displays. Zhou said he plans to continue visiting the animal. The park's Weibo account and multiple news outlets reported that neither the trainer nor the bear sustained serious injuries. PEOPLE reported it had reached out to the park for comment.

The episode comes amid heightened scrutiny of regional zoos: in 2023, Hangzhou Zoo publicly denied online rumors that viral clips of bears sitting on their hind legs were actually people in bear suits.

Sources:

Footage and accounts were reported by Newsflare, the Associated Press, PEOPLE and Global News.

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