(Reuters) - One of two men who broke into a zoo in North Dakota got his hand bitten by a brown bear after sticking his arm through the bars of the animal's enclosure, police said on Sunday.
Police in Minot said they responded late on Saturday to a report that David Shepard, 21, came to a hospital emergency room saying he had been attacked by a bear.
They said an investigation showed that Shepard and Cody Kage, 23, climbed the fence of the Roosevelt Park Zoo after it closed and were walking the grounds when they came upon the bear enclosure.
Shepard stuck his arm through the bars of the enclosure aiming to entice one of the bears to come closer, and a bear bit his right hand, police said in a statement posted on Facebook.
Brown bears can grow up to 9 feet tall, weigh up to 1,000 pounds, and their non-retractable claws can measure up to 6 inches, according to the zoo's website.
The two men, who police said were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident, are facing felony trespassing charges.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales in Chicago; Editing by Peter Cooney)