An individual who trained animals was fatally attacked by a large grizzly bear he had cared for since childhood during a stunt gone wrong.
Stephan Miller, aged 39, was assisting his cousin at Randy Miller’s Predators in Action animal training center in the San Bernardino mountains near Los Angeles, where the tragic incident occurred.
During the filming of a promotional video with Rocky, a 7.5ft tall grizzly weighing around 50 stone, Stephan, who had experience working with bears in entertainment, was involved.
Rocky, a five-year-old bear accustomed to human interaction, had previously appeared in the 2008 comedy “Semi-Pro” where Stephan served as a body double for Will Ferrell and had wrestled with the bear.
On the day of the attack, while filming what was intended to be a playful advertisement, Rocky suddenly attacked Stephan by lunging at his neck, catching him off guard and biting him in a vulnerable area.
Handlers quickly used pepper spray to restrain the bear and remove Rocky within seconds, as emergency medical services arrived at the scene. Despite their efforts, Stephan succumbed to his injuries shortly after the attack, leaving behind a wife and two children.
Randy, who had been working with exotic animals for over 25 years and specialized in staged animal actions, expressed how swiftly the incident occurred and their immediate response to stop the bear, although it was too late to save Stephan.
Detailing the events leading up to the attack, Randy recounted how Stephan had been interacting with the bear throughout the day, engaging in bonding activities in preparation for wrestling, with safety protocols in place.
Following the investigation by the state’s Department of Fish and Game and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which initially debated whether the bear should be euthanized, Rocky was spared and relocated to an animal sanctuary in California due to pressure from animal rights groups.
The facility, where the incident took place, also housed various other exotic animals, including brown bears, a black bear, snakes, reptiles, an alligator, crocodile, leopard, mountain lion, African lions, and tigers.
Hollywood filmmaker Nick Palumbo, a friend of Stephan and Randy, expressed his deep connection to Stephan and his disbelief that the bear intended harm, emphasizing the bond between Stephan and the bear that he and his cousin had raised.
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