The mother of a three-year-old girl has been arrested after she threw the toddler into a bear enclosure.
Onlookers were left horrified after they witnessed the woman picking her daughter up and throwing her into the bear's cage.
Thankfully the little girl survived the ordeal.
After being thrown into the enclosure, the bear took little notice of the toddler walking over to sniff the child before walking away.
Employees of the zoo worked quickly to try and entice the bear to the other side of the cage before they rescued the infant.
The bear named Zuzu is currently a resident of the zoo located in Uzbekistan.
The mother of the child was quickly arrested after authorities were notified about the incident.
According to the Daily Mirror, the little girl's mother now faces an attempted murder charge after the horrific ordeal.
A spokesman for the zoo said: "A young woman threw a little girl down into a brown bear's enclosure.
"She threw the girl down in front of all the visitors.
"It was completely unclear what her motive was.
"Both the visitors and the staff of the zoo were trying to stop her.
"However, they failed.
"We are scared to even think how this would end if the bear were to react at the toddler as its prey.
"Zuzu, a male Caucasian Brown Bear was watching the woman, who threw the little one over a metal fence.
"She fell into a trench under the fence.
"Zuzu got slowly up, slowly got down into the trench, walked towards the girl, sniffed her and walked back."
The mother, whose identity remains unknown, will now face a minimum of 15 years in prison.
It is believed that the young girl suffered a concussion after landing in the bear's cage and sustained some cuts, bruises and other injuries due to the fall.
However, a spokesperson for the zoo said there was "not a single trace of wounds from the bear's fangs or claws".
