Escaped bear shot and killed in Chinese park after attempts to net it fail

A brown bear that escaped from a park in eastern China was shot dead after repeated attempts by police to net him failed, the Modern Express reports.

The bear, which was more than one metre tall and weighed around 100kg, escaped from its cage at Yancheng People’s Park in Jiangsu province on Saturday morning, the report said.

The bear had only been at the zoo for days before its escape, after which it ran around the park before falling into a river.

Dozens of policemen then sealed off the park and tried to recapture the animal using nets and anaesthetic darts.

During a confrontation that lasted for around an hour, police tried to anaesthetize the bear, but it clawed the darts from its body. A net gun was also used, but the bear tore the net.