Brown bear 'jealous' of pregnant woman's unborn child attacks her in circus

A terrifying moment that was captured on camera showed a "jealous" brown bear attacking a pregnant performer at a circus in Oryon, western Russia while onlooking children screamed.

A video of the incident showed the trainer, dressed in a bright blue dress and golden high heels, motioning for the male bear to put its paw on a pole. The animal initially obeyed the woman, but soon after putting its paw on the pole it took hold of her instead, reports Mail Online.

The other trainer on the stage, who was wearing a long golden suit, and a staff member in a red polo shirt intervened to free the woman from the grasp of the bear who was trying to maul her. However, one audience member said that the bear did not back off despite "blows with a whip."

The pregnant trainer was rushed to hospital in a bloodied condition, but survived the attack with a few cuts and bruises. She said that her unborn child was unharmed, and suggested that the bear might have hurt her because he had gotten jealous of her baby.

"Perhaps it was jealousy to some extent, since I am pregnant. There can be many nuances. I literally have two scratches and a slight bruise on my leg," she explained.

"I will, of course, deal with this incident with more experienced colleagues. With the animal everything is fine and my baby, all is normal," she added.

The woman said that the bear has now continued behaving the same way as before, "affectionately and fondly again as if nothing happened."

Meanwhile, people from the town said that the bear seemed agitated and disturbed when it was waiting in a cage before the show. It may have previously attacked another circus member and tried to escape.

The trained animal, who has been barred from performances, is one of several performing at the circus. Irina Novozhilova, head of Russian animal rights group Vita, said that all circuses with live animals were "always cruel beyond limits" and should be banned.

"No circus conditions will be humane for one simple reason. Training goes hand-in-hand with cruelty. And circuses with animals should be banned," she said.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a probe into the attack, and will soon be interviewing circus employees and witnesses.