Bear at Chinese Wildlife Park attacks visitor who rolled down car window to feed it

A man was bitten by a bear at a wildlife park in China when he rolled down his car window to feed the animal.

The incident took place on Friday (18 August) at the Badaling Wildlife Park when the man, identified as Chen, ignored the warnings of park authorities and lowered the windows of his car to throw snacks at the bear. He reportedly followed the actions of fellow visitors, who did the same without any mishap.

But when the bear began to approach Chen's car, he tried to roll up the windows but rolled it down instead. The beast then leapt in and bit the man's left shoulder, leaving him with minor injuries.

Chen later admitted that he was at fault for the incident but also criticised the park's staff for not caring enough, the Straits Times reported.

"At that time, I was in a lot of pain and fear and asked the staff what to do. They just told me to go to the hospital myself and I was shocked when I heard that," he said.

However, a spokesperson of the park has refuted the allegations, saying most accidents happen due to the irresponsible behaviour of visitors. Signs are clearly displayed throughout the park instructing them not to go close to the animals or feed them.

The park has also released CCTV footage that showed park rangers warning Chen to close his window prior to the attack.

Badaling Wildlife Park is the same place where tigers attacked two women in 2016. A Siberian tiger had mauled one woman to death, while another injured her daughter at the park in the incident.

The duo had stepped out of their vehicle in a tiger enclosure.

The deadly incident led local authorities to ask the park – which allows visitors to drive around the reserve in cars – to limit the number of vehicles, increase park surveillance and improve visitor safety awareness.