A three-year-old suffered a concussion and an open wound on her after her mother dropped her into a bear’s den at a zoo in Uzbekistan.
CCTV cameras from the Tashkent zoo capture the horrifying moment when the mother dropped the child into the bear’s den, as she dangerously dangled the toddler over the railing of the animals’ enclosure.
The child fell right into the bear’s den, in a trench 16 feet below, as horrified onlookers watched helplessly, reported New York Times.
The bear Zuzu who had been moving about in her premises ran towards the child and sniffed her before she moved away.
Zuzu was distracted away from the child before the zoo management could run to her rescue.
Footage that has been widely shared online shows six zookeepers entering the enclosure and one of them picking the girl up and carrying her away.
According to Daily Mail, the unmarried mother was detained and charged with an attempt to murder and may face 15 years in jail if convicted.
A spokesperson for the zoo said, “A young woman threw a little girl down into a brown bear’s enclosure, in front of all the visitors,”.
“It was completely unclear what her motive was. Both the visitors and the staff of the zoo were trying to stop her – but failed,” the spokesperson added.
The girl is currently stable and is undergoing treatment at the hospital.
