Bear bites off arm of 9-year-old boy in Chinese zoo

A bear has bitten off the arm of a nine-year old boy in China. State media reported on Sunday that the incident happened on Saturday at a zoo at Pingdingshan Hebin Park in Henan province.

The reports said the bear attacked the boy when he managed to push his arm through its cage to feed it.

A doctor at the hospital where the boy is receiving treatment said the lad lost his entire right arm, which had to be amputated.

International Business Times, quoting the Journal of Emergency Medicine,  reports that even though bear attacks were rare, there were 162 bear-inflicted injuries reported in the USA between 1900 and 1985.

DailyMail quotes Jeffrey Tittel, director of environmental organisation New Jersey Sierra Club, as saying that bears are usually docile and afraid of people.