Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

August 30, 2008 9:40:07 CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Showbiz Bear Kills Trainer

Posted Apr 23, 08 4:26 CDT in US 

(Newser) – A grizzly bear used in movies attacked and killed its trainer yesterday in California, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 700-pound bear, which appeared in a recent Will Ferrell movie Semi-Pro, lunged at the 39-year-old man and bit him in the neck. Staff at the animal training center managed to subdue the animal with pepper spray. The trainer was pronounced dead at the scene.

The facility where the bear was housed, Predators in Action, trains animals, including grizzlies, lions, tigers and wolves, for showbiz appearances, and had a perfect safety record  until now. It's not known why the 5-year-old bear, Rocky, attacked. The facility is owned by the dead trainer's cousin, a stuntman who wrestled Rocky himself in Semi-Pro. The bear's fate is yet to be decided.

Source Los Angeles Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Tenn. Dad Saves Son From Bear

    Aug 13, 08 7:21 CDT
    Tenn. Dad Saves Son From Bear A desperate dad pried open the jaws of a black bear and pelted him with rocks as the animal attacked his 8-year-old son during a hike in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. "The bear was staring at me," said the boy, Evan Pala, who was near a creek when the attack occurred Monday. "He stood up and jumped on me. Before he even got me I called, 'Bear!'"

    More »

  • Starving Russian Bears Menace Miners

    Jul 26, 08 11:32 CDT
    Starving Russian Bears Menace Miners A pack of starving bears has surrounded a platinum mine in Russia's remote Kamchatka peninsula, the Los Angeles Times reports. Two guards have been eaten, and terrified miners are refusing to work. The government has sent a team of snipers to kill the ravenous bears, thought to be starving because of widespread salmon poaching.
    More »

  • Bear Mauls Girl in Alaska Bike Race

    Jun 30, 08 4:19 CDT
    Bear Mauls Girl in Alaska Bike Race A 14-year-old girl riding in a mountain bike race in Alaska was severely injured when she was attacked last night by a bear. She was able to make a brief emergency cell phone call and whisper the word "bear" that triggered an emergency search. The girl suffered head, neck, torso and leg wounds and was protected from even more serious wounds by her bike helmet. She underwent surgery and was in critical condition, police said. More »

  • Probe Launched Into Fatal Grizzly Attack

    Apr 25, 08 4:11 CDT
    Probe Launched Into Fatal Grizzly Attack California safety officials have launched an investigation into the death of an animal trainer killed by a showbiz grizzly bear. The 39-year-old man died from a single bite to the neck while wrestling the 700-pound bear Rocky for a promotional video for a social networking start-up. The company he was filming for at the Predators in Action center will be probed for health and safety violations, the AP reports. More »

  • 10,000 BC Clobbers Competition

    Mar 9, 08 3:43 PM CDT
    10,000 BC Clobbers Competition Action epic 10,000 BC fought its way to the top of the box office this weekend, grabbing Warner Bros. $35.7 million, Bloomberg reports. The chronicle of a hunter facing massive beasts clambered over another new release, College Road Trip, a family film which took $14 million, as well as the political thriller Vantage Point, which came in third with $7.5 million. More »

Rocky the grizzly bear is seen at the Forever Wild animal sanctuary in Phelan, Calif. in Nov. 2007.   (AP Photo/Christina Bush)
Rocky the grizzly bear is seen at the Forever Wild animal sanctuary in Phelan, California. Rocky killed a 39-year-old trainer with a bite to his neck.   (AP Photo/Christina Bush)
Rocky the bear wrestles Will Ferrell's stand-in in 'Semi-Pro.'   (bdnfilm)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Clip from 'Semi-Pro' showing Will Ferrell with the bear.   (bdnfilm)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 2)

Tags

animal attack  • Will Ferrell  • grizzly bear  • bear  • Semi-Pro


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other US Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »