Our psychology editor Robin Abrahams observes forensically that “It’s not unclear. The motive is embedded right there in the final sentence”. She refers to this October 23, 2009 report in The Times:
Ice-skating bear kills circus head
A circus bear killed one person and injured another during rehearsals for an ice-skating show.
The bear, which was part of the Russian State Circus, killed Dmitri Potapov, 25, a circus director who was visiting the show in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. An animal handler who tried to stop the attack suffered bruising to the brain and lacerations to his scalp.
It is unclear why the bear, which was wearing ice skates at the time, attacked Mr Potapov.