By Nick Meo, UK Telegraph

Zoo keepers saved the life of a German woman who jumped into a polar bear enclosure at Berlin Zoo by pushing away of one of the animals when it attacked her.

The keepers’ bravery was praised after they dragged the 32-year-old out of a moat for the animals. They had to shove the animal out of the way after one of four polar bears dived into the water and attacked her, inflicting serious bites to her legs and arms.

Knut, the zoo’s baby bear that became an international celebrity in 2007 after it was hand-reared by a keeper, was in the enclosure at the time. Germany went polar bear crazy after the birth of the cute animal.

Police did not say why the woman jumped into the enclosure. She had to climb over a fence, a line of prickly hedges and a wall to get in. She suffered serious injuries after being bitten on her arms and legs.

Last December a man who afterwards said he was “lonely” survived jumping into the same zoo enclosure when keepers diverted the bears with chunks of beef.

“The woman has proved herself to be careless by jumping into the enclosure,” a police spokesman said afterwards. “Logic tells us that polar bears will do this type of thing in this situation.” Read more here.

You knew this would happen someday as the environmentalists and the media have portrayed the polar bears as cute, cuddly animals, when instead they are ferocious grizzly bears who have adapted to their environment by growing white fur. Also likely to happen at some point is a fatality or fatalities of people venturing to the North Pole not prepared for the extremes of the climate. The Catlin Expedition is one such group in jeopardy. See story under What’s New and Cool.