A famous Russian bear tamer was slaughtered by one of the two animals she kept at her home
Alyona Maslyanova, 50, died when a predator escaped from its cage and injured her in the village of Pargolovo near St. Petersburg, Russia.
A harrowing video showed the bear running around in a blood-splattered cage before the camera panned to the right to show her mutilated body lying face down on the ground.
Maslyanova came from a Russian circus dynasty and also performed with bears along with her husband Viktor Maslyanov and their 17-year-old son Alexander.
The teenager saw his mother being attacked while she was feeding the bear. He managed to escape and alerted emergency services.
Alyona Maslyanova, 50, died when a predator escaped from its cage and injured her in the village of Pargolovo near St. Petersburg.
Maslyanova came from a Russian circus dynasty and performed with bears together with her husband Viktor Maslyanov (pictured right).
Maslyanova was a famous circus artist in Russia
She kept two bears at her home, one of which was slaughtered
Police arrived but were initially unable to enter the area because the killer bear was lurking near the woman’s body.
They stood on a roof and watched the excited animal.
Snipers were called and shot the bear, which had not attempted to escape.
The other animal she kept in the family home was tranquilized.
The bears were called Varya and Dasha.
The Russian Investigative Committee said: “The bear attacked the woman who kept two bears on her property in the village of Pargolovo.”
“The victim died at the scene. The attacking bear was shot by police.”
“The second bear is in an enclosure and poses no danger to others. The deceased woman was a professional animal tamer and had lived with wild animals since 2015.”
The photographer had previously said: “It is difficult to predict the behavior of a bear, but with special attention it is possible.”
A shocking video showed the bear walking around in a blood-splattered cage
Maslyanova was only 50 when she was killed by the bears
“Because my husband and I take full care of our bears – we feed them, clean them, prepare them for work – we can see the animal’s mood and guess what to expect from it.”
Her husband arrived at the scene after police arrived and was prevented by officers from entering the area where his wife had died.
He complained that his wife had approached the bears while he was away.
He shouted, “Why? Why did you do that when I wasn’t there? Why?”
He was also seen hugging his son.
