An 80-year-old worker at a shuttered Illinois petting zoo died after being mauled by one of the zoo's black bears, authorities said.
Even though the Spotted Acres farm and petting zoo just outside Flora, Ill., about 100 miles east of St. Louis, was closed to the public a couple of years ago, Tom Phillips worked there most days, the Chicago Tribune said.
He cleaned cages and fed a menagerie of animals that included bears, camels and ostriches, said Deb Phillips, a daughter-in-law.
Summoned to the zoo because one of the black bears had escaped, Phillips approached the animal with a bag of food. The bear took the food and attacked Phillips, fatally injuring the man.
Sheriff's deputies were called and shot the bear.
© Copyright 2006 by United Press International
