Children get unexpected lesson as aggressive bear is shot dead after rampaging at school

A policeman shot the brown bear after it entered the school grounds of School Number 1 in Arkhara, a settlement in Amur region. The animal was spotted as students came to school in the morning.

School director Tamara Zudova allowed the children to see the dead bear at break time. 

'The students surrounded the dead animal, tried to touch and stroke the bear, and took pictures on their cell phones,' reported one account. 'There were also some adult passersby who took pictures.'

The head of the village Arkhara Elena Manaevasaid: 'It was in the morning, and all the kids had just come to school. Of course, we all were scared very much. But thanks to the police, they solved the problem quickly, avoiding casualties. 

'They forced the bear to the stadium, then into a corner close to the fence. Then it was shot. It do not remember such cases in our village.'

A spokesman for the regional branch of the Interior Ministry said: 'Police officers ... tried to scare the predator away, but it started to behave aggressively and lunged to attack people. 

'So the district police inspector had to use his registered hand weapon to protect the residents from the dangerous animal.'

Vyacheslav Kastrikin, a member of Khingansky National Park staff, examined the dead male bear and said it was old and ill. 'His teeth had almost totally decayed so he wasn't able to chew and had lost much weight. This predator would not have lived long in the wild.'