The £20million bear park had been open just weeks when gruesome scenes unfolded in front of terrified onlookers.
After perching on a wall above the pit, a 25-year-old man jumped in, seemingly about to endure a horrendous death in front of visitors enjoying a day out at Switzerland’s Bern Bear Park.
Prowling around in its enclosure, a 40st brown bear quickly pounced, grabbing the man and dragging him across the enclosure as if he were a rag doll.
Standing on its hind legs as it attacked, the towering predator clamped its jaws around the man’s shoulders with the helpless victim no match for the beast’s awesome strength.
Astonishing images showed the man bleeding from the head, arms and left hand as he was tossed this way and that – all while emergency services scrambled into action.
The unnamed 25-year-old man pictured in the jaws of the bear at the zoo in Bern
The terrifying attack unfolded at Bern Bear Park in Switzerland on a Saturday afternoon in November 2009
The bear pinned the man that had jumped into his enclosure to the ground in November 2009
But in a twist of fate, it was the bear that ended up fighting for its life – shot by police in order to save the man’s life. He on the other hand, suffered non life-threatening injuries.
The terrifying attack unfolded at Bern Bear Park in Switzerland on a Saturday afternoon in November 2009.
Dramatic photographs show the moment that Finn, a four-year-old European brown bear, realised he had an uninvited guest in the enclosure.
The bear quickly pounced on the man and used his paws to hold him tightly to the ground.
In another photo, one of the bear’s front limbs can be seen wrapped around the man’s torso as he also held him in its jaws.
Briton Sam Brookes, who was visiting the park with his girlfriend when the attack happened, said: ‘I looked in after I heard people screaming.
‘The bear was standing over him and throwing him back and forth.
‘Some yelled, “Get stones” to throw at the bear. I think most people had an awful shock. I can still see it when I close my eyes.’
The man was quickly pounced on the bear and used its paws to hold him tightly to the ground
The man is seen lying on the floor of the enclosure during the bear attack
Dramatic photographs taken by a visitor captured the moment the brown bear realised he had an uninvited guest in his enclosure.
The man, who had mental health issues, had been waiting on the wall above the enclosure for around 10 minutes before he jumped around 13ft down into the pit.
The delay had given worried park officials enough time to call the police.
They arrived, armed with 9mm ‘fragmentation’ ammunition which splinters on impact, just seconds before the man jumped into the danger zone.
As the bear’s jaws and teeth sank into the man’s body, the police officers had to act fast.
They said they were left with no other option but to open fire and hit the bear with a single bullet to the chest.
Police, paramedics and zookeepers rushed into the enclosure and the man was quickly taken away on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance.
He was treated in hospital for severe head and leg injuries, and his condition was said at the time to be ‘comfortable’.
Meanwhile the bear’s condition was deemed critical by vets treating him at the park, according to local reports from the time.
The vets chose not to remove the bullet splinters but instead treated him with antibiotics and he responded well.
The bear pictured prowling around its enclosure at the Bern Bear Park
Police officers shot the bear with a single bullet in the chest to save the man’s life
Police, paramedics and zookeepers rushed into the enclosure and the man was quickly taken away on a stretcher to a waiting ambulance
Finn, lying tranquillised under medical observation in his enclosure in Bern
There was an outpouring of public sympathy for the bear after the incident, police and zoo officials said.
Bouquets of flowers and pots of honey were placed outside his enclosure.
And according to Swiss tourism websites, Finn is still in the bear pit with his companion Björk and cubs Berna and Ursina.
Bears have been the symbol of the city of Bern since the Middle Ages with the animals being kept in zoos there for more than 150 years.
There have reportedly been six incidents of people falling into bear pits in the city in this period.
The Bern Bear Park had opened just a month before the incident and was praised for giving the animals much more space and a more natural environment to roam in.