The woman who lost her arm in a lion attack at a Queensland zoo on Sunday had known and worked alongside the animal for decades.
The incident occurredat Darling Downs Zoo, near Toowoomba, at about 8.30am on Sunday morning.
The woman had known the big cat for 20 years before it pounced, and the damage caused meant her arm could not be saved after paramedics flew her to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition.
Darling Downs Zoo took to its social media pages on Sunday to say ‘one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it’.
The zoo said she had been observing keepers working when the incident occurred.
‘This is something that she has done many, many times over the past 20 years,’ the zoo wrote on Facebook.
‘She is well-versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals.
‘Inexplicably, at this stage, one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it.
The woman was airlifted to hospital after the lion attack on Sunday morning
The animal will definitely not be put down or punished in any way.
‘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 zoo said Workplace Health and Safety personnel were investigating the attack.
‘The zoo is working with them to establish how this incident occurred but the full details will not be known until (the woman) can be interviewed,’ the zoo said.
The animal will definitely not be put down or punished in any way.
The zoo was closed on Sunday and is expected to re-open on Tuesday.
It also posted on social media that ‘the injured person was not one of our immediate family nor a keeper’.
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia and asked why the woman was in the enclosure despite not being a keeper, the zoo refused to answer.
Darling Downs Zoo said Workplace Health and Safety were conducting an investigation
The zoo in regional Queensland is home to many different big cat species
‘If it wasn’t a family member (which shouldn’t be in there anyway) or a keeper, or someone who looks after the animals, then who was it then? A tourist, A trespasser?’ one person wrote on Facebook.
Another replied suggesting the woman was a cleaner at the zoo.
Steve and Stephanie Robinson have owned and operated the zoo for 20 years, which is home to rare white lions, as well as lion cubs.
The pair began breeding lions in 1997.
In 2002, they moved their animal collection to the Darling Downs region west of Brisbane and started building the Darling Downs Zoo.
Recently, the zoo talked about its supervised encounters with its lionesses on social media.
‘Each day at 10am they are on supervised display to our visitors and are also available for some personalised encounters,’ the zoo wrote.
‘These encounters are strictly monitored to ensure their enjoyment of them and their wellbeing.’
Many Aussies online supported the zoo and its owners.
‘Sending lots of love to your family. Your zoo is by far the best and unfortunately accidents happen,’ one person wrote.
‘We were at your zoo yesterday and can’t stop talking about what a great day we had. All the best for a recovery,’ another said.
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Darling Downs Zoo declined an interview.
Workplace Health and Safety were contacted but no new information was available on Monday morning.
