BEAR MAULS MAN AT ZOO

The man, who is mentally handicapped, apparently tried to have a picnic with the European brown bear who then grabbed the unwelcome intruder in his jaws and swung him around like a rag doll.

But last night it was the 40-stone bear called Finn who was fighting for life after police shot the four-year-old to save the man’s life.

These shocking pictures were taken by a visitor to the Bern Park, Switzerland, as the animal pounced on the unnamed 25-year-old who scaled a wall and jumped 20ft into his home.

Finn sank his claws and eight-inch fangs into the guest and began to rip his flesh. He then picked up the bloodied intruder in his jaws and carted him to the other side of the enclosure, which only opened last month.

Police opened fire but used a fragmentation bullet, which hit Finn in the chest and shattered inside him. The bear was critically injured, with vets unable to operate due to splinters caused by the bullet. The man sustained severe head and leg wounds but was not critical.

The bear was shot and seriously injured when a man entered the enclosure and was attacked

Police and zoo officials say there has been an outpouring of public sympathy after the incident – for the bear. The other bear in the large ­enclosure, Finn’s 10-year-old sister Bjoerk, was not involved in the ­attack.

The case mirrors a similar ­incident in Berlin Zoo in April when a woman jumped into a pool to swim with polar bears. She was ­severely mauled but ­rescued before keepers could open fire on the bears.