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A woman was severely injured in a lion attack at a zoo in Australia, authorities say.
On Saturday morning at around 8:30 a.m. local time, a woman was visiting the carnivore precinct of the Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland when she was attacked by a lion.
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According to a social media post from the zoo, the woman had been in the precinct “many, many times” before and was “well-versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals.”
But at some point, something went terribly wrong. The zoo noted in its post that the lion “grabbed” the woman’s arm, very quickly causing “severe damage.” The attack was so severe that the woman was airlifted to Princess Alexandria Hospital in Brisbane for surgery. Sadly, because of the incident, the woman — who is believed to be in her 50s, according to the Guardian — actually lost her arm. But at this point following surgery, according to the Daily Mail and others, she is said to be in stable condition.
The zoo noted:
“At no stage did this animal leave its enclosure, and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public.”
The woman is neither a zookeeper nor a staff member, apparently. And the zoo also indicated that the animal itself would “not be put down or punished in any way.” Darling Downs Zoo later added:
“Police and Workplace Health and Safety personnel are investigating this incident and have been onsite all morning. 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. We are extremely grateful to the QAS [Queensland Ambulance Service], QPS [Queensland Police Service] and LifeFlight for their prompt attendance and to all of the people and organizations who have rallied round us with messages of support.”
What a terrible situation.
Our hearts go out to that poor woman, as well as those who had to deal with the aftermath. Ugh.
[Image via WENN]
