SAFETY QUESTIONS RAISED

Woman Loses Arm in Lion Attack at Australian Zoo

A woman sustained serious injuries after the animal mauled her arm in an incident officials call “inexplicable.”

A Queensland woman sustained serious injuries to her arm on Sunday when she was mauled by a lioness at the Darling Downs Zoo in Pilton, Australia. Zoo officials said via Facebook that the lioness “inexplicably” grabbed the woman’s arm while she was watching zookeepers tend to the enclosure before opening. She was not a zoo employee, and was instead described as a “much-loved member of the zoo owner’s family” who had visited the lions frequently over the last 20 years, and was “well-versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals.” Officials maintain the woman never entered the animal’s enclosure, and the lion never left it. Officials say they have not yet been able to speak to the woman, but say they’ve worked with police and government investigators to establish how the attack could have occurred under these circumstances. The victim was airlifted to a hospital in Brisbane shortly after the attack and is now recovering in stable condition. However, zoo officials wrote in a Monday morning Facebook update that she has lost her arm. Darling Downs Zoo plans to reopen as usual on Tuesday and says, “The animal will definitely not be put down or punished in any way.”