Children scream as wild lynx pounces on trainer and claws his chest, neck and head in Russian travelling circus
- A lynx cat clawed its trainer’s chest as part of a travelling circus at Tskhinval
- The animal leaped into the air and tugged at their neck in South Ossetia show
- Some parents called it ‘scary’ as ‘there was no protective fence around the stage’
This is the alarming moment a wild cat causes panic in a Russian travelling circus as it leaps in the air to claw its trainer’s chest, neck and head in front of screaming children.
The lynx went on the attack after the male handler cruelly tugged the animal’s leash tied around its neck after it performed on a high chair.
In the clip, the chair rocks and tips over, leaving the animal scared.
A wild lynx was cruelly tugged by the leash tied around its neck as it performed on a high chair as part of a travelling circus at Tskhinval, South Ossetia
It slams on to the floor and the wild animal pounces at the middle aged trainer.
The animal leaped high in the air to claw his chest, neck and and head at the performance by a travelling circus at Tskhinval in the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia which borders Russia.
It desperately swings its paws at the trainer who tries to pull away and break away.
Its chair starts to rock and tips towards the ground before the animal pounces at its trainer
Children were heard screaming as the performance turned into mayhem.
A mother said: ‘It was scary – there was no protective fence around the stage where he was performing.’
The touring circus from Sochi has not commented on injuries to the trainer or the safety concerns.
In a dramatic turn of events, the animal leaps high in the air to claw its trainer’s chest, neck and and head during the performance. Children were heard screaming as the performance turns into mayhem
The circus – which also features acrobats, figure skaters and an array of animals including crocodiles, pythons, monkeys, and porcupines – is on tour around Russia and neighbouring regions.
And the clip has sent the internet into meltdown as people slam the circus.
One said ‘this is not an attack, it is a necessary self-defense’ while others hoped the wild animal ‘bit the throat of the moron’.
Recently animal rights campaigners have expressed concern over a series of incidents involving circus animals.
Irina Novozhilova, of animal rights group VITA, said: ‘No circus conditions will be humane for one simple reason.
‘Training goes hand in hand with cruelty…
‘Circuses are always cruel beyond limits. And circuses with animals should be banned.’