A 700lb grizzly bear that appeared in a recent Will Ferrell comedy and was described by its owner as “the best working bear in the business” has killed handler Stephan Miller with a bite to the neck.
Three experienced handlers were working with the bear, a 5-year-old male named Rocky, at Randy Miller’s Predators in Action facility in California when it attacked. The staff subdued the grizzly with pepper spray.
Randy Miller, 43, won a stunt award when he stood in for Russell Crowe to wrestle his own tigers on the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator. His cousin, Stephan, 39, was involved in The Jungle Book: Mowgli’s Story and The Island of Dr. Moreau.
The facility is located in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles and has two grizzlies, trains lions, tigers, leopards, cougars and wolves.
In a recent movie Semi-Pro, released in the United States on February 29, Rocky the grizzly appears in a scene in which Will Ferrell’s character wrestles a bear to promote his basketball team.
The Department of Fish and Game said that because the grizzly was properly caged, they will not take action in the case.
Denise Richards, who works with wild animals at Moonridge Zoo said that trained animals who turn on their trainers usually aren’t at fault. She was quoted as saying: “Even though it may appear that the bear attacked for no reason, there was a reason. I’m sure Stephan’s cousin Randy understands why it happened. They’re not cold-blooded killers.”
Check out Pregators in Action photos below. We’ve provided another link showing Randy working with the bear.