Hollywood’s animal trainers not deterred by bear attack

By all accounts, Rocky was one of the most gentle and affectionate animals to be found in Hollywood's vast exotic menagerie of performing lions, tigers and bears — until the day the 700-pound (318-kilogram) grizzly bit down on the neck of a veteran trainer and killed him.

To some animal rights activists, Stephan Miller's death Tuesday was a tragedy waiting to happen for an industry that should be retiring wild animals in favor of computer-generated images. But to members of Hollywood's tight-knit community of exotic animal trainers, it represented a rare but accepted hazard in an industry they insist is no more dangerous than racing cars or fighting fires.

"If it came right down to it, if the same protocols were in place, I'd wrestle the bear again," said veteran trainer Joel Almquist, who tussled with Rocky hundreds of times as he prepared the grizzly for his scene in the movie "Semi-Pro."

Click here for the full article.