A polar bear died of electrocution at the Copenhagen Zoo, biting into an electric cable after managing to leave its enclosure, announced Wednesday March 8 the zoological park of the Danish capital.
The accident occurred late Tuesday afternoon, when a young female managed to leave the enclosure by breaking a metal barrier.
Animals “very curious and very strong”
"
Behind the fence, she grabbed an electric cable, which she cut with her teeth, before being electrocuted
," the zoo said in a statement.
Zoo director Mads Frost Bertelsen announced tighter security at the polar bear enclosure, while arguing that polar bears "are
very curious and strong animals
".
Never such an accident had occurred in the history of this zoo opened since 1859, which makes it one of the oldest in Europe.
An institution in the Danish capital, the “
Zoologisk Have
” hit the headlines in 2014, with a public autopsy, in front of children, of a euthanized giraffe.
This one, named Marius, had been executed with a slaughter pistol, dissected, then cut into pieces and then thrown as food to the lions under the gaze of taken aback toddlers.
The case had shocked thousands of animal defenders around the world, but the zoo had defended euthanasia justified by inbreeding.
In December, a Swedish zoo also drew heavy criticism after shooting several monkeys that had escaped from their cages.