- Woman mauled by lion at a zoo
- She lost her arm in the attack
- Do you know more? Email sarah.brookes@dailymail.com.au
A female zookeeper has suffered a serious arm injury following a horrific lion attack at a Queensland zoo.
It is understood the woman, aged in her 50s, had her arm ripped off after she was mauled at Darling Downs Zoo near Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, at 8.23am on Sunday.
The woman was flown to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital with a ‘significant arm injury’.
She is currently in a stable condition.
In a Facebook post the zoo said it was closed on Sunday due to ‘unforeseen circumstances’.
Darling Downs Zoo’s managing director Steve Robinson has been keeping African Lions, and managing their husbandry and welfare, for nearly 50 years.
With his wife, Stephanie, they began breeding lions in 1997.
In 2002 they moved their animal collection to the Darling Downs and started building the Darling Downs Zoo.
Paramedics treat a woman who has had her arm ripped off following a horrific lion attack at a Queensland zoo
The zoo in regional Queensland is home to many different big cat species
The zoo has tawny lions and rare white lions, as well as two lion cubs.
Visitors can pay $150 for an up close encounter with the lions, tigers and leopards.
The website stated a specially trained keeper accompanied guests as they went behind the scenes to feed the big cats meat using a pair of tongs, billing it as a ‘thrill of a lifetime’.
Two weeks ago, the zoo posted that its lionesses enjoyed ‘the company of humans immensely’.
‘Each day at 10am they are on supervised display to our visitors and are also available for some personalised encounters,’ the post read.
‘These encounters are strictly monitored to ensure their enjoyment of them and their wellbeing.’
The natural lifespan of lions was usually only up to around 14 years in the wild but in captivity they can live much longer according to the zoo.
The zoo is home to multiple big cat species including Sumatran tigers, cheetahs and leopards.
More to come
