Video of bicycle-riding bear mauling monkey in Shanghai animal park sparks anger

A video of a bear attacking a monkey after the two fell off their bicycles at a Chinese zoo has sparked outrage among animal rights activists, but an official on Friday defended the show.

A minute-and-a-half long video surfaced this week showing the bear biting and clawing the monkey after a mock race at the Shanghai Wild Animal Park.

Keepers then pull and beat the bear with wooden sticks, prompting it to eventually release the monkey.

“The performance is pure mistreatment,” Zhang Dan, co-founder of the China Animal Protection Media Saloon, was quoted as saying by the China Daily newspaper on Friday.

“It goes totally against the nature of the animal. But they cannot speak for themselves about their fear, pain, or unwillingness.”

A park official confirmed the incident, which happened on Sunday, but defended the show, saying the monkey was not injured and both animals had resumed performing the same act.

“The monkey and bear involved have been partners for more than five years and this kind of accident has never happened before,” she said.