A three-year-old girl was apparently dropped into a bear’s enclosure while visiting a zoo in Uzbekistan by her mother, reports said Monday.
The woman is currently being investigated regarding attempted murder, according to the New York Post.
The clip out of Tashkent showed the child being dropped approximately 16 feet below a railing as the bear, called Zuzu, strolled by and smelled the child.
Zookeepers were able to guide the animal to an enclosed area before going to save the child. She suffered a concussion and cuts.
The mother is now facing a criminal case for attempted murder and could receive 15 years in prison if convicted in the incident.
“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,” a zoo spokeswoman noted.
“Both the visitors and the staff of the zoo were trying to stop her but failed,” the woman continued. “We are scared to even think how this would end if the bear were to react at the toddler as its prey.”
She added that “Zuzu got slowly stood up, slowly got down the trench, walked towards the girl, sniffed her and walked back.”
In a social media post on Friday, the Tashkent Zoo addressed the incident, saying it “clearly showed that our bear Zuzu is a calm predator who is not angry with people.”
“Zuzu was brought to us from the Baku Zoo in 2017 and immediately won the affection of our entire team due to its openness, playfulness and love of people,” the zoo noted:
The zoo added that law enforcement was investigating what happened and “The child is under medical supervision.”
“The Tashkent Zoo will cover all expenses related to the girl’s medical care and wishes her a speedy recovery,” the post concluded.