A famous Russian bear tamer was killed by one of the two animals she kept in her home
Alyona Maslyanova, 50, died when a predator escaped from its cage and savagely attacked her in the village of Pargolovo, near St Petersburg in Russia.
A distressing video showed the bear walking around a blood-spattered cage, before turning to the right to show its mutilated body lying face down on the ground.
Maslyanova belonged to a Russian circus dynasty and also performed with bears, alongside her husband Viktor Maslyanov and their 17-year-old son Alexander.
The teenager saw his mother being attacked while feeding the bear and managed to escape, alerting emergency services.
Alyona Maslyanova, 50, died when a predator escaped from its cage and savagely attacked her in the village of Pargolovo, near St Petersburg.
Maslyanova belonged to a Russian circus dynasty and also performed with bears alongside her husband Viktor Maslyanov (pictured, right).
Maslyanova was a famous circus performer in Russia.
He had two bears in his house, one of which killed
Police arrived but were initially unable to enter the premises because the killer bear was lurking near the woman’s body.
They were on the rooftop watching the agitated beast.
Shooters were called in and shot the bear, which had not attempted to flee.
The other beast that was in the family home was tranquilized.
The bears were called Varya and Dasha.
The Russian Investigative Committee reported: ‘The bear attacked a woman who had two bears on her property in the village of Pargolovo.
‘The victim died at the scene. The bear that attacked him was shot dead by police officers.
‘The second bear is in an enclosure and does not pose any danger to others. The deceased woman was a professional animal trainer and had been living with wild animals since 2015.’
The statement had previously said: ‘It is difficult to predict a bear’s behaviour, but it is possible with careful attention.
A distressing video showed the bear walking around a blood-spattered cage.
Maslyanova was barely 50 years old when she was killed by the bears.
‘Since my husband and I take full care of our bears – we feed them, clean them, prepare them for work – we see the animal’s mood and can guess what to expect from it.’
Her husband arrived at the scene after police arrived and officers prohibited him from entering the area where his wife had died.
He regretted that his wife came close to the bears in his absence.
He shouted: “What for? Why did you do this when I wasn’t there? What for?”
He was also seen hugging his son.