A Darling Downs Zoo employee in Australia sustained a “significant” injury in a lion attack.
According to The Guardian, a woman in her 50s was attacked by a big cat while cleaning the enclosure on Sunday, July 6, at about 8:32am in the rural town of Pilton, Toowoomba region, Queensland.
As per the reports, the woman has lost her hand in the attack.
The Darling Downs Zoo in a statement said that "a much-loved member of our family" was attacked while observing the keepers working, adding, "This is something that she has done many, many times over the past 20 years."
The injured woman was transferred to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital. She was in a stable condition, but a spokesperson for the Queensland ambulance revealed that she suffered a “significant arm injury.”
A Workplace Health and Safety Queensland spokesperson told media, “Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has been notified about an incident at Pilton, near Toowoomba, earlier today. WHSQ inspectors are on-site and making enquiries. No further comment can be made at this time.”
Meanwhile, the Darling Downs Zoo, in a brief post on social media, announced that the zoo will remain closed all day due to some “unforeseen circumstances.”
Notably, the zoo owns African lions, including white lions from the Greater Timbavati and Southern Kruger Park region of South Africa. It also has a Sumatran tiger and a pair of Sri Lankan leopards.
