Circus bear on hoverboard attacks handler pinning him to the ground as audience members watch

Warning: This article contains footage which some readers may find distressing.

Images show the terrifying moment that a bear performing in a circus attacked a handler during a show.

Handler Sergei Prichinich, 48, had been giving a performance with the bear, which was standing on a hoverboard.

The bear suddenly lunged at the trainer in a live performance. (East2West News)

Video shows the moment that the female bear suddenly ran towards Prichinich and knocked him over during the performance in the Altay Kray region in central Russia.

The brown bear, which is named Donut, then pinned Prichinich down to the ground and appeared to bite at a stick that he was holding.

Donut weighs more than 490 pounds and held Prichinich down while another trainer could be seen to poke a stick through the bars.

After a tense few moments on the ground Donut moved away and released Prichinich, who was able to get back to his feet.

Donut seemed to lose her aggression and walked calmly away from Prichinich after the attack.

The Moretti Circus has denied reports that the trainer was taken to hospital following the incident, saying that the performance continued.

The bear attacked a trainer during a performance. (East2West News)

Neither the trainer nor the bear were injured during the incident, with Prichinich remaining calm throughout.

Nikita Mikhailov, the head of the Moretti Circus, said: “Towards the end of the act, the bear snapped at Sergei and wrestled with him."

Mikhailov added that Prichinich 'didn’t resist on purpose' and instead 'waited for the bear to calm down, got up, continued the routine with her, sealed it all with a kiss, and that was it — the show continued as usual'.

The circus head added: “This is an animal, and they can behave differently, they may not like something, they can express their emotions this way.

“Every trainer understands this.”

Audience members watched in horror as Prichinich was pinned down.

The incident could easily have proven fatal for the trainer, but despite that he remained calm throughout before Donut walked away.

Sergei Prichinich was attacked by the bear. (East2West News)

The use of animals is still permitted in Russia, with circuses using the animals in a variety of different performances.

Another performance involved two bears being dressed in shorts and made to 'box' one another on their hind legs in a makeshift ring.

Russian animal rights campaigner Yuri Koretskikh leads efforts to ban animals in circuses.

He said “While modern world circus art is rapidly moving towards humanity, banning the use of animals in circuses, the Russian circus lobby is actively resisting progress, defending its commercial interests."

This is despite suggestions that audiences 'no longer want to see animals suffer in circuses'.