title: A case of a fatal Himalayan black bear attack in the zoo.
abstract: We present a case of a 22-year-old male, who was found inside the cage of Himalayan black bears in the Belgrade Zoo. The victim attended the Belgrade Beer festival the previous night, drinking a lot of beer and acting aggressively. A medico-legal autopsy was performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Belgrade. Autopsy findings showed numerous excoriations all over the body surrounded by bruises, as well as spindle-shaped, oval, and partly irregular wounds of variable size, large defects of skin and subcutaneous soft tissue, fractures of the thyroid and cricoid cartilage, and fracture of ribs. Postmortem toxicological analysis revealed the presence of ethanol in vitreous humor and urine and 11-nor Δ9 tetrahydrocannabinolic acid found in the urine. We discussed similar cases from the available literature in different regions of the world. In conclusion, we pointed out that the presented case does not follow the general pattern of Himalayan bear attacks.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Forensic Medicine Milovan Milovanovic, School of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Deligradska 31a, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia. mihailovic@med.bg.ac.rs
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mihailovic
authors.forename: Slobodan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Savic
authors.forename: Irina
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Damjanjuk
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stanojevic
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milosevic
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D001733:Bites and Stings / Q000473:pathology*; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000032:analysis; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D000431:Ethanol / Q000032:analysis; D058734:Exsanguination / Q000209:etiology; D049429:Forensic Pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D055771:Serbia; D001503:Ursidae; D014822:Vitreous Body / Q000737:chemistry; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; C016780:11-nor-delta(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol-9-carboxylic acid; D013759:Dronabinol