A man braved an angry bear to rescue his three-year-old daughter after the girl climbed a fence in a German zoo and tumbled into the animal's pen.

The Dutch girl scrambled into the enclosure and fell into a moat during a family visit to the Luenebach zoo in southwest Germany.

Her 34-year-old father quickly climbed after her, but the Asiatic black bear struck her on the head. He managed to carry his daughter to safety but not before the bear also attacked him leaving him with a leg injury.

Both were taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said they were checking on the zoo's security precautions. The fence is one metre high.

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