A mother of a 3-year-old girl is facing attempted murder charges after she reportedly dropped the small child into a bear pit at a zoo.

Translating from local news sources, the New York Post and East2West News report that the unidentified mother and child were seen on surveillance video at a zoo in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on an unspecified date. The video, seen here, appears to show the mother dropping the 3-year-old girl into an enclosed area where a large bear was being kept.

Miraculously, the bear did not attempt to harm the child. The animal reportedly approached the little girl, but only sniffed her before walking away. According to the New York Post, staff at the zoo was able to draw the bear into an enclosed area so that the child could be safely rescued.

“Zuzu got slowly stood up, slowly got down the trench, walked towards the girl, sniffed her and walked back,” a spokesperson for the zoo told East2West News.

Though the animal did not hurt her, the little girl reportedly suffered a concussion and cuts. A photo shows the girl in a hospital bed, but it is unclear if she is still hospitalized. The spokesperson reportedly said that witnesses knew something was wrong and tried to stop the mother before she dropped her child into the bear enclosure.

“A young woman threw a little girl down into a brown bear’s enclosure, in front of all the visitors. It was completely unclear what her motive was,” the spokesperson reportedly said. 

“Both the visitors and the staff of the zoo were trying to stop her but failed … We are scared to even think how this would end if the bear were to react at the toddler as its prey.”

The mother was arrested and is facing charges of attempted murder. If convicted, she could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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