The buzz of excitement at Berlin Zoo was abruptly interrupted by cries of panic and a loud splash as something dropped into the moat within the polar bear enclosure.
To the shock of onlookers that was the sound of a 32-year-old woman who was now inside the exhibit and swimming towards the polar bears.
It was a Friday in Spring 2009, with Easter just days away, locals and tourists alike flocked to Berlin Zoo. The crowds were buzzing with excitement to see the zoo’s star attraction: the family of four polar bears.
It was feeding time and, as usual, the bears drew huge crowds as eager spectators gathered around the enclosure to catch a glimpse of the arctic beasts. However – so dangerous are the predators – that even zookeepers don’t enter the paddock during this time.
Their fun day out at the zoo would soon take a nightmarish turn after a woman scaled the three foot perimeter wall and jumped into the icy water below.
Visitors were left horrified to see the woman now making her way towards the polar bears who were perched on a rocky island at the centre of the enclosure.
For her ill-advised decision the woman would pay a price.
While most of the bears were too distracted by their meal one of the bears did spot the enclosure’s visitor and made its way towards her before lunging in the woman’s direction.
Incredible photographs captured the bear as it pounced on the woman, biting the back of her neck, with the pain of the predator’s bite visible on her contorted face.
Witnesses, including families with small children, were shocked to see what was unfolding in front of their eyes with many believing they were about to see a person mauled to death.
Thankfully before a tragedy could occur the woman started a frantic rush to escape the enclosure.
At a steep wall separating the bears from the viewing public she was met by zoo keepers who desperately flung life rings towards the woman while others threw meat and prodded the bears to leave the woman alone.
The heroic efforts of the zookeepers and the panicked escape attempts of the woman were captured on video.
Footage shows the 32-year-old repeatedly attempting to escape from her predicament by attempting to clamour up the wall by any means necessary.
The terror of her predicament is seemingly never ending as she continuously slips back into water while three of the four bears gather around her.
She comes painstakingly close to being hoisted to safety in a life ring before she plunges back into the water.
On more than one occasion she is pulled back down by one of the bears who dives under the water and grabs the victim by her backside as it attempts to drag her away.
The woman is eventually dragged to safety using a life ring while zookeepers keep the animals at bay by tossing food at them.
Once safely out of the water, calmness returns to the enclosure with the polar bears now surrounded by the debris of the tumultuous incident that unfolded.
The unnamed woman was rushed to a nearby hospital with wounds to her arms, hips, back and legs but according to zookeepers she was lucky to escape with her life.
Zoo biologist Heiner Klos told German press at the time that the incident could have turned out ‘even more terrible.’
He added: ‘our alarm system worked. Otherwise things would have turned out badly for the bear.’
The polar bears were not punished for the attack. A police spokesperson in 2009 told Der Spiegel: ‘The woman jumped in there carelessly and must logically expect that adult polar bears do such things.’
This was not the first time a visitor had dived into the enclosure. In 2008, a 37-year-old man climbed into the enclosure holding the baby polar bear Knut. The two-year-old Knut was a global celebrity after becoming the first polar bear to be born and survive infancy at the zoo in over 30 years.
The man climbed into the paddock because he thought Knut was ‘lonely.’ However, before he could get any closer to the animal, zookeepers noticed the intruder and lured Knut into a lockable area with a piece of meat. The man escaped unharmed.
Despite these intrusion into the paddock, Berlin Zoo has resisted calls increase the height of the concrete wall surrounding the exhibit.
Instead, the Zoo insisted those who want to jump in ‘will always find a way.’