Dancing bear attacks woman on set of Russian TV show

A bear wearing a ridiculous costume attacked a young woman who was ironically filming a TV show about the dangers of wild animals.

A video shot by a backstage crew member on the Russian TV show Pro Lubov (About Love) in Moscow shows a brown bear called Bonya in a ridiculous red and yellow skirt and red hat.

Her handler, wearing a flamenco costume, has her muzzled and on a lead.

He constantly feeds her treats to make sure she behaves well, her muzzle just opening enough to fit the morsels into her mouth.

She performs a few simple turns and many in the studio audience probably thought she was a giant cuddly toy, rather than a wild animal.

But then a young woman approaches Bonya from behind and strokes her lightly.

The bear, perceiving a threat, whirls around and lashes out with her huge claws.

Her claw gets stuck in the woman's clothing and all it takes is a twitch of her paw to bring the woman crashing down to the floor.

Luckily Bonya is not interested in finishing off her prey and her handler pulls her away without any trouble.

He can be heard berating the woman: "I warned you, do not approach the bear!"

The terrified woman, who survived without injury, whimpers: "I am sorry."

The cameraman mutters: "I will be staying away from the bear, just in case."

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has previously warned that because most of the world's captive bears are not allowed to hibernate, their health is often affected and they can be very cantankerous in the winter months.