Woman Horrifically Has Arm Mauled Off By Lion At Zoo

A woman from Australia has lost her arm after a zoo lion attacked her, severely injuring her arm. According to ABC News, the 50-year-old woman was visiting Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland state when the predator mauled her.

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Woman Loses Arm After Lion Attack

This horrific incident happened before the opening hours early Sunday morning. In a statement on Facebook, the zoo mentioned it happened at 8:30 that morning while she was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct.

“This is something that she has done many, many times over the past 20 years,” it said. “She is well versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals.” Despite this, one lion “grabbed her by one arm” and inflicted critical damage to it.

“At no stage did this animal leave it’s enclosure and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public,” the zoo assured. They swiftly airlifted her to PA Hospital in Brisbane and proceeded to operate on her.

So far, the victim remains in stable condition. “Police and Workplace Health and Safety personnel are investigating this incident and have been onsite all morning,” it continued. “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.”

In response to the attack, staff decided to close the zoo all day Sunday and Monday. It plans to reopen to the public on Tuesday.

So what will happen to the animal? The zoo mentioned in an update that it would not put down the lion responsible for the injury, nor would it punish the animal. In some incidents like this, zoos will decide to put the animal down.

For example, in September 2024, a lion mauled a zookeeper to death in Nigeria. In response, the zoo put down the lion to prevent any further injuries or deaths.

The zoo’s update also mentioned that the woman isn’t a zoo visitor or an employee. Rather, she is a “much loved member of the zoo owners’ family.” It continued to assure customers that the lioness wasn’t “hungry, skinny, taunted or tortured.”