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Polar bear breaches containment area at Cincinnati Zoo

CINCINNATI -- Cincinnati Zoo visitors were temporarily kept indoors Wednesday afternoon after a polar bear breached a containment area.

Berit, the zoo's female polar bear, breached a behind-the-scenes containment area around 11:30 a.m. but was never actually loose in the zoo, said spokeswoman Michelle Curley.

There was no risk to staff or visitors in the zoo, Curley said. Visitors were moved indoors as a precaution and were safe to leave the park if they chose. No staff, guests or animals were harmed in the incident.

Wednesday was Ethan Baugher's first time at the zoo with his family. He drove more than an hour from Columbus, Indiana, to visit the park with his wife, mother-in-law, 8-year-old-niece, 4-year-old son, and 3-year-old nephew.

They were just up the hill from the polar bear exhibit when zoo officials told guests to get indoors. Baugher was initially curious and "a bit annoyed" that officials didn't immediately reveal why they were telling guests to stay indoors but said the incident did not significantly upset or scare his family.

"This kind of stuff happens," Baugher said. "They were maybe a little over-cautious, which is certainly better than not being cautious enough."

Visitors were told to either remain indoors or leave the park after the polar bear breach. Some, including Baugher, waited outside the gates to be allowed back inside. Zoo officials announced the park was reopened and the polar bears were contained around 1:40 p.m.

Gallery: Berit the polar bear 

Brooke Ann Johnson, of Brookville, Indiana, left the zoo after she and her family were kept inside a conference room. She came to the zoo with her sister and two nephews, ages 1 and 2.

Johnson said her family wasn't scared during the incident and that zoo staff handed out coloring books to the children.

"I believe [the workers] did a good job of handling it," Johnson said. "The workers were very calm when they heard about the escape."

Berit and her twin brother, Ulaq, came to Cincinnati in 2000 from the Denver Zoo, according to Enquirer archives. Their arrival was shortly after the Cincinnati Zoo unveiled its $2.75 million polar bear exhibit, featuring a 7-foot wide, 12-foot high glass front.

The glass viewing panels give visitors a "nose-to-nose" experience with the polar bears.

Berit's brother, Ulaq, died suddenly in October 2002.

This isn't the first time the Cincinnati Zoo has encountered a problem with its polar bears. In 1990, a zoo worker lost her arm after a male polar bear named Icee attacked her as she attempted to feed him. The worker, Laurie Stober, was awarded $3.5 million after she filed a lawsuit against the zoo.

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