[Regnum] The employee injured in a Himalayan bear attack at an enclosure complex in Ussuriysk had previously lost her leg to the bear's claws. Vera Blishch dedicated more than 30 years of her life to working with wild animals, aif.ru reported.
At least she is consistent, I guess.On the evening of July 30, a 62-year-old zoo exhibit employee was feeding bears in the city's Dora Park. One of the bears bit off her arm as she approached the enclosure. She was taken to the hospital in serious condition and placed in intensive care. The Investigative Committee is conducting an investigation.
Blish previously trained brown bears in a circus, then turned to animal rescue. In 2015, she helped evacuate the inhabitants of a flooded private zoo in Ussuriysk, and subsequently secured the construction of a new municipal zoo in Dora Park.
In 2019, a female bear in a moving cage grabbed Blishch's leg with her claws while she was teaching a new worker how to feed the animal. This resulted in the amputation of her leg at the knee. Blishch said at the time that she was near the cage because she was dizzy, and that the bear was not at fault for the incident.
Other high-profile cases of predator attacks on caregivers occurred at the Taigan Safari Park in Crimea. In 2024, lions mauled an experienced employee who was cleaning the enclosure with the latch unlocked. In 2025, a lion seriously injured the park's owner, Oleg Zubkov. Employees then drove the animal away using an electric car.
| The Crimean animals were no doubt distressed at being in the middle of an on-going war. |