Animal trainer Stephan Miller was filming a promotional video when play-wrestling with a bear turned trag!c. The 39-year-old was at his cousin’s animal training center, Randy Miller’s Predators in Action, located in the San Bernardino Mountains, east of Los Angeles. Stephan attempted a wrestling stunt with a five-year-old bear named Rocky.
Though not working as a trainer at the time, Stephan had previously worked at the center for years. Randy, considering Stephan’s experience with bears, enlisted his help for the promo video. Rocky had been trained to wrestle humans and had even performed in the 2008 film Semi-Pro, where he wrestled Randy, who was a body double for Will Ferrell.
Standing at 7.5 feet tall and weighing 700 pounds, Rocky had been trained to be ‘playful’ on cue, as Randy explained to TODAY.com. However, despite the training and Stephan’s familiarity and bonding with the bear, the filming took a tragic turn. Randy noted that even with all protocols followed, things went wrong. As Rocky began the staged attack, he unexpectedly caught Stephan off guard and bit him on the neck, a vulnerable spot.
The team used pepper spray to separate Rocky from Stephan within seconds, but it was too late. A post-mortem revealed Stephan died within minutes. Paramedics arrived around 3:00 p.m., but were unable to revive him, as reported by the Associated Press.
The incident was investigated by the state Department of Fish and Game and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. After campaigns from animal rights groups, Rocky was spared from euthanasia, but was prohibited from working in TV and film or having contact with anyone other than his trainers. Rocky was later moved to an animal sanctuary in California after being cleared to work again.
Reflecting on the incident, Randy said he didn’t blame the bear, acknowledging that their line of work involves assuming risks and putting themselves in vulnerable positions. Hollywood filmmaker Nick Palumbo, Stephan’s best friend, noted, “Anybody who k!lled him I would want to k!ll, but I don’t believe the bear meant to hurt him.”