A zoo bear mauled to death a 55-year-old worker who was cleaning an enclosure in the southern Russian city of Stavropol, an official with the city's emergencies service said.
"A zoo cage cleaner forgot to lock the bear's cage, and the animal attacked him from behind," Boris Skripka said. "The bear caught him by the leg and damaged a vital artery. The worker was rescued by other zoo employees, but succumbed to his injuries before the ambulance arrived".
The bear is still being kept in the zoo while its future is being decided.
"I have no idea of what should be done with animals under such circumstances," a zoo spokesman, Sergei Vedeneyev, said. RIA Novosti