Viral photos captured the dramatic moment terrified onlookers and rescuers ran for their lives after six brown bears suddenly turned on them while being freed into the wild.
The Syrian bears were rescued from captivity and were being released to their new homes in Gara mountains in Iraq when they immediately charged towards the spectators and their rescuers.
The bears in steel cages were surrounded by a huge crowd of spectators, armed officers, and reporters. But as soon as they took their first steps to their new home, they turned on the rescuers and onlookers.
Dramatic photos show the chaotic scene as people fled for their lives.
Blend Prevkani, the head of the organization, said that the rescued animals were rescued from different areas in Iraq.
“Some of them were bought while the others were given to us by their owners,” Prevkani told Shafaq News agency.
In 2018, three bears that were being released in the same area attacked reporters, Prevkani added.
He said that the animals panicked upon seeing a large crowd of people.
One person commented: “Bears looked like they didn’t have a clue what to do or how to survive. Will they be able to figure out how to hunt and survive. How to hibernate for the winter etc. hope they don’t starve to death or get killed after all they have been through.”
Another wrote: “The bears thought that they were going to be shot if they ran so it was defense. Their heart might be in the right place but this crowd is just plain old stoopid! They don’t even consider the tremendous stress the bears were under, not knowing where they were or the crowd’s intent. Idiots! But thank you anyway.”
A third added: “The bears are terrified- what do the humans expect. We have got to educate future generations in these countries to grow up with a conscious when it comes to animals.”
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Replaced!