A bear was killed by another bear during a fight at Pairi Daiza zoo on Sunday afternoon.
Pairi Daiza zoo in Brugelette (Hainaut province) houses around ten bears in one enclosure. On Sunday afternoon, two black bears began to fight, mirroring behaviour sometimes seen in nature. One bear was particularly aggressive towards the other.
Zoo staff used blank shots to scare and separate the animals, but their efforts were unsuccessful and one of the bears did not survive the attack.
Visitors in the zoo were not in danger at any point, Pairi Daiza stated. However, the area was closed off to the public due to the potentially distressing nature of the scene, especially for children.
There was no panic among the visitors but some enquired about what was happening when they overheard the fight.
