Bear is shot and killed at Jacksonville Florida zoo after escaping its enclosure through open door

A bear that had spent most of its life in a Florida zoo managed to escape its enclosure and attacked a zookeeper before being fatally shot by workers who had cared for it.

The bear named Jonny escaped from a backstage area away from the public part of the zoo shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens after a gate to his enclosure was left open.

“The bear walked out the open door and made a beeline” for the zookeeper, who was then attacked, according to a police report.

The zookeeper called for help. “The call for help was heard by another team member who was nearby and made the emergency call to start the weapons team,” Kelly Rouillard told News4Jax.

“We will conduct an ongoing investigation over the next few days and weeks. We do not take this lightly. It is deeply painful when we lose an animal, especially in circumstances like this,” said Kelly Rouillard.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue teams took the 35-year-old zookeeper who was attacked to a hospital for treatment after sustaining lacerations to her head, back and thighs, though her injuries were not considered life-threatening.

Several workers then moved to assist the victim until rescuers arrived, according to the report.

A witness told police that he joined co-workers at the zoo and began throwing objects at the bear to try to get him away from the zookeeper.

A zoo curator told Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators that when he arrived at the habitat he saw the bear “actively attacking” the zookeeper.

He said the attack continued while they waited for the veterinary team to arrive, so he made the “executive decision to go in and shoot the bear,” according to the police report.

Staff members arrived on the scene within seconds and a lethal weapons team was forced to shoot the bear to protect the life of the keeper (file photo)

Although the intention was to wait for the veterinary team to obtain a tranquilizer gun, there were fears for the life of the zookeeper as “the bear continued to attack viciously.”

Four rounds from a 12-gauge shotgun were fired into the bear’s head, chest, and back. The bear then went to the back of the enclosure, where it collapsed and died.

Zoo officials said in a Facebook post that an emergency call was initiated and the facility’s “lethal weapons team” responded immediately.

“Our highest priority is always the safety of human lives, therefore the bear was shot and killed,” the statement said.

“We will conduct an ongoing investigation over the next few days and weeks. We do not take this lightly. It is deeply painful when we have the loss of an animal, especially in circumstances like this.

Jacksonville Fire and Rescue teams took the 35-year-old zookeeper who was attacked to a hospital for treatment, but her injuries were not considered life-threatening.

“Our animal care team has cared for these animals for years, so it is very daunting for us to have to deal with a situation like this,” Rouillard said.

In these types of situations, whether in a zoo or in the wild, this is standard operating procedure when it comes to protecting the safety of humans, so of course with a bear of that size the first thing is that we are protecting the life of a human,’ he added.

Jonny was one of two bears at the zoo and he was a five-year-old North American black bear who had been at the attraction since 2017.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Office of Captive Wildlife and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration are now investigating the incident.