Bear Kills Caretaker

An Ohio animal caretaker was mauled to death by a bear during feeding, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. The victim, 24-year-old Brent Kandra, worked for Sam Mazzola, an exhibitor of exotic animals who has run afoul of animal-rights groups in the past. It's not clear what provoked the attack. The bear was out of its cage for the feeding, but police say that was routine, notes WKYC.

PETA targeted Mazzola 4 years ago for his practice of letting paying customers wrestle his black bears, reports AP. An inquiry by the Department of Agriculture led to Mazzola being stripped of his license to exhibit exotic animals and fined $13,950 for running the bear-wrestling act without proper licensing. Among his other bizarre animal-related violations: illegally selling illegal skunks at an Ohio pet store.
(More bear stories.)