A woman has lost her arm after being attacked by a lion at Queensland’s Darling Downs Zoo over the weekend officials said.
The unidentified woman was attacked Sunday morning and was airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, where she underwent surgery. Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls said the victim had lost an arm but was “recovering well” at the medical facility.
The zoo said the attack happened at around 8:30 a.m. local time Sunday.
It identified the woman in a statement as “a much-loved member of our family” who was “well-versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals.”
According to the zoo, the woman was watching keepers work in the carnivore precinct when, “inexplicably,” one of the animals grabbed her by the arm, causing severe damage.
“At no stage did this animal leave its enclosure, and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public,” it said.
The zoo added that the attack occurred during an activity the woman “has done many, many times over the past 20 years.”
“Police and Workplace Health and Safety personnel are investigating this incident and have been on site all morning,” the zoo said. “The zoo is working with them to establish how this incident occurred, but the full details will not be known until our family member can be interviewed.”
The zoo later clarified that the involved animal will neither be euthanized nor punished.
Last month, the zoo promoted its lions on its Facebook page, stating its managing director, Steven Robinson, and his wife, Stephanie, have been breeding lions since 1997 and moved their collection to the Darling Downs Zoo in 2002.
“Every day at 10 a.m., they are on supervised display to our visitors and are also available for some personalized encounters,” the June post stated. “These encounters are strictly monitored to ensure their enjoyment of them and their wellbeing.”
The zoo said it expects to reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday.
