2 brown bears were shot dead after they managed to escape their enclosure at the Whipsnade Zoo.
The bears also attacked a wild boar after their escape.
According to a report by DailyStarUK, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty, the 2 bears, managed to escape their enclosure after strong winds blew a tree down.
The horrible incident happened this week.
The zoo was supposed to pen this week, said a report.
Once they got free, the bears got into a fight with a wild boar that was living in a neighbouring enclosure.
The staff of the zoo had to ill the animals as they could have harmed humans.
Malcolm Fitzpatrick, the Chief Curator, said that the staff were extremely upset over the incident.
In an announcement that was made by the zoo, they said:
As brown bears are strong and dangerous predators, our first priority is safety – we must quickly make decisions informed by our experience and expertise to protect our people, guests and our other animals.
Zoo officials also explained why they did not use tranquillisers to stop the bears.
The zoo bosses said that tranquillising the bears was not an option due to the fact that the drugs could take 20 minutes to take effect.
In that amount of time, animals can become extremely aggressive and could have hurt anyone.
The boar survived the fight with the bears and is currently reportedly being observed by zoo staff.
They were also given emergency treatment from a vet.
Cinderella, a third bear that was in the same enclosure, did not get out and cause a scene.
Zookeepers managed to call her to an indoor den, where she was secured.
The staff had also removed the tree that fell down.
Mr Fitzpatrick has assured that a full blown investigation into the incident will be carried out.
During a news conference, they said:
This situation is something we train to deal with through regular, rigorous drills – but one that we always hope we’ll never have to face. I’m devastated by the outcome of this morning’s incident, but I’m confident that our actions prevented any further loss of life.
Graeme Williamson, a team leader at the zoo, talked about the bears last month.
They said at the time:
After months of being snuggled up indoors, the bears have taken their first steps outside, eager to rediscover the world, and we know that many families will be having a similar experience next week as restrictions lift and the Zoo can be safely explored again. We have been working so hard getting our 600-acre outdoor site ready for our visitors and we cannot wait to welcome them back.
Such instances happen because bears are known to explore out the area that they live in.