They’re coming to us! Bears are released into the wild … and immediately call in their rescuers
- The chaotic scene was seen yesterday at a nature conservation project in Kurdistan in Northern Iraq
- Six Syrian brown bears were released into the wild after being rescued from captivity in human homes
- But as they took their first steps toward freedom, the beasts launched an unexpected attack on their rescuers
- Terrified spectators and journalists flee for their lives as the animals rush toward the crowd
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Dramatic footage captured the moment when terrified spectators fled for their lives after a group of bears launched an unexpected attack on their rescuers while being released back into the wild in Iraq.
Six Syrian brown bears rescued from captivity in human homes were freed yesterday during a conservation project in Northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
But shortly after the cages were opened, the furious bears charged at the crowd of onlookers and reporters as the ceremony fell into chaos.
This is the dramatic moment when terrified onlookers fled for their lives after a group of bears launched an unexpected attack on their rescuers while released back into the wild in Dohuk, Iraq, on Feb. 11, Thursday.
People and security members run from a bear after Kurdish animal rights activists released him into the wild on Thursday
Six Syrian brown bears rescued from captivity in human homes were freed yesterday during a conservation project in Northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
A bear walks on a snowy ground after exiting the cage. The release of six bears in Mount Gara in Duhok Governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as part of an initiative by the American Kurdish Cooperation Organization to protect local wild bears
The six bears were released to their new homes in the Gara Mountains after being rescued from captivity by activists.
The animals were kept in steel cages, surrounded by a large crowd of reporters, spectators and armed officers.
But when the bears took their first steps towards freedom, they decided to turn on their rescuers as they stormed towards the humans.
One of the bears released into the wild by Kurdish animal rights activists after rescuing the bears from captivity
A bear walks on a snowy ground after leaving the cage in the middle of a group of people. The six Syrian brown bears were released to their new homes in the Gara Mountains after being rescued from captivity by activists
A bear is seen in a cage before being released to take its freedom in the wild, part of an American Kurdish Cooperation Organization initiative to protect wild bears from extinction
Dramatic photos captured the chaotic scene as photographers and spectators ran to escape the beasts. It remains unclear whether anyone was injured in the incident.
According to the head of the organization, Blend Prevkani, the rescued bears have been brought from various areas in southern Iraq.
“Some of them have been bought while the others have been given to us by their owners,” the rescuer told Shafaq News Agency.
A Syrian brown bear is seen in a cage before being released on Thursday to take his freedom in the wild in Kurdistan, Iraq.
A rescued bear is seen in a cage before Kurdish animal rights activists released him into the wild in Dohuk, Iraq, on Thursday.
Two of the rescued bears are seen in the snow after they were released from captivity in northern Iraq on Feb. 11.
Six Syrian brown bears were released into the wild after being rescued from captivity in human homes. A bear walks past a group of cars after being freed by local rescue workers in Iraq’s Kurdistan region on Thursday
This was the organization’s third release in recent years.
According to Prevkani, reporters were attacked by three bears in 2018 after they were released in the same mountain range.
He said the bears had panicked about the environment with a large group of people, including media crews. On the occasion in 2018, two journalists were injured.