In April 2009, a 32-year-old woman identified as Mandy K climbed a fence, crossed hedges, and scaled a wall to enter the polar bear habitat during feeding time. One of the four bears lunged after she dropped into the moat, biting her legs and arms before keepers fought the animal back and hauled her out.
She suffered injuries to her limbs and back and was hospitalized, and the zoo said it might pursue legal action because her actions endangered staff as well as herself. The aftermath sparked debate about security, yet the zoo stood firm, arguing the enclosure was already safe and that determined trespassers can always find a way in.
Officials added that firearms were available and would have been used if that were the only way to save her. Celebrity bear Knut was in the habitat that day, though he wasn’t the attacker. Reports later described the woman as a teacher in despair after failing to find work.
The incident wasn’t isolated to that era’s Knut obsession either, since a separate visitor had tried to “keep him company” a few months earlier and faced trespassing charges. Looking back, the story underscores how a single breach can put people and animals at risk while leaving institutions to balance public access, spectacle, and safety without turning zoos into fortresses.
