Shocking attack: A woman was mauled by a bear after jumping into a enclosure at Berlin Zoo yesterday
The brave keepers eventually managed to push the bear away and pull the woman to safety.
She was bitten by one of the four older polar bears in the enclosure and not by the famous Knut, who took Germany by storm as a cub after he was hand-raised by a keeper.
Build-up to the attack: The woman swims towards a polar bear
Still under attack, the woman swims for and then finally grabs a rope hanging down by rescuers
She finally escapes the bears and is rushed off to hospital for treatment
It is not known why the woman pulled the dangerous stunt but she initially appeared to be elated as she swam towards a bear in the enclosure.
It is not easy to access the enclosure, which is surrounded by a fence, a line of prickly hedges and a wall.
The woman's cardigan hangs from the polar bear's jaws after the attack