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Bears pull 11-year-old into cage and kill him by throwing him ‘like a ball’ after he allegedly provoked them

The child had reportedly been "showing off" his bravado to a couple of girls by allegedly "provoking the bears" and "slapping their paws." At some point, Nikita tried to pose for a photo in front of the bears
PUBLISHED AUG 6, 2020
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

A schoolgoing child was killed by a pair of brown bears at a holiday resort in Sochi, Russia, after they dragged him inside their cage. Local reports suggest that the 11-year-old boy, identified only as Nikita, was "thrown around like a ball" and mauled to death by the beasts, according to The Sun.

The child had reportedly been "showing off" his bravado to a couple of girls by allegedly "provoking the bears" and "slapping their paws." At some point, Nikita tried to pose for a photo in front of the bears. However, he got too close.

The girls watched in horror as the bears clawed and ripped their helpless friend apart, hurling him around the cage like a ragdoll. They cried for help and called their parents, but it was too late to save the child.

Both predators were shot dead by staff at the guest house in order to recover the boy's lifeless and bloody corpse. His death was later confirmed by responding paramedics. The traumatized girls are now seeing a psychologist to help them move past the disturbing ordeal.

According to The Sun, the bears' outer cage had reportedly been left "unlocked" at the guest house's mini zoo at the Black Sea retreat. After Nikita entered the outer cage, he was pulled inside the inner cage via a hole the bears had reportedly dug under the bars.

Eyewitnesses said the boy had been "provoking" the beasts by hitting their paws. “He slapped the bears’ paws to show how cool he was," a resident told broadcaster Vesti Kubar. “A hole had been dug under the cage and they just pulled the boy through this."

“They were tossing him around like a ball. He was all broken," they added. The Russian Investigative Committee revealed that a criminal case has been opened against the guest house owners, accusing them of “causing death by negligence."

Sochi mayor Alexey Kopaygorodsky responded to the tragic incident by banning all mini-zoos in the resort. “All such mini-zoos, cages, and aviaries must be closed,” he said. “They cannot ensure the safety of our children."

"It is so scary what has happened," Nikita's great aunt Evgenia Mikhailova, 57, told Sochi24 TV. Meanwhile, his great uncle Vladimir Mikhailov revealed further details to the outlet. “He was with two girlfriends, one of them a bit older," Mikhailov said. “I think that he wanted to show off in front of the girls."

“There is a double cage and people throw food into the space between two cages," he explained. “He went into this space and the bears got him."

School psychologist Tamara Dolotkazina said Nikita's demise was a "terrible tragedy". "He was a very good, intelligent boy," she said. “I am just shocked by some people saying that the deceased is to blame -- not knowing all the details."

“God is the judge of such people, my condolences to his parents," she added. “I knew him well, I had been working as a psychologist in his school. He was a very smart, nice boy. It is a terrible tragedy." According to the report, the bears had been caged at the guest house after rangers found them in the wild as orphaned cubs.

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