A mother dropped her three-year-old daughter into a brown bear enclosure in Uzbekistan’s Tashkent Zoo on Friday.
CCTV footage shows the 30-year-old woman dangle her daughter over the railing of the enclosure before suddenly letting go.
The girl was luckily left unharmed by the bear and immediately rescued by attentive zoo officials.
The video shows zoo visitors watching in shock as the Caucasian brown bear, named ZuZu, approached the child.
Witnesses said the bear came close to the young girl and sniffed her before walking away to an internal part of the enclosure.
The footage appears to show the mother staying to watch the incident before zoo staff rushed into the enclosure and saved the three-year-old.
The mother was later detained and faces a criminal case for attempted murder, local publications report. She faces a minimum of 15 years in prison if convicted.
The young girl is receiving treatment at a hospital for concussion, head cuts and bruises from her fall into the enclosure.
A spokesperson for the zoo said it was unclear what the mother’s motive was, however, local officials claim the woman was in despair after her husband left home to find work in Russia, The Telegraph reports.
“The woman has been depressed as her husband left for Russia and no longer lives with her,” the Uzbek health ministry said.
Officials said the woman is a university professor, has two children and lives with her elderly dad.
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