Lion 'just playing' when it attacked woman: zoo owner
The NSW woman, in her 50s, was flown to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital on Sunday after being mauled by the lion at Darling Downs Zoo in Pilton, a small town in Queensland's Toowoomba region.
The victim, who remains stable in hospital, lost an arm in the attack that has shocked staff and the local community where the family-owned business has operated since 2005.
Zoo co-owner Steve Robinson confirmed the woman, a school teacher, was his sister-in-law and she had visited the zoo many times over 20 years.
He said that although zoo staff were nearby, no one witnessed the attack near a holding pen and "it was all over in a split second".
"She certainly was not in the enclosure. Nobody goes into the enclosures with adult lions," he said.
A lion keeper at the scene when the incident happened used a belt as a tourniquet, with Mr Robinson saying the worker had saved his sister-in-law's life.
Mr Robinson refused to describe his sister-in-law's injuries, saying they were: "Too macabre".
The attack did not happen in a part of the zoo open to the public and there were no "stand-off fences" as it was an area where the animal keepers worked.
Mr Robinson said the incident was "very raw" and he was still processing what happened.
"We've now got a lovely lady whose life has been altered," she said.
Mr Robinson also said he was not sure why the attack happened.
"The best we can come up with, at this stage, is the lion was just playing," Mr Robinson said.
"Now she was playing with a human in that circumstance is yet to be determined.
"This is not a lion fault. Lions are lions. This is what they are."
The zoo previously said the victim was watching animal keepers work in the carnivore precinct when the attack occurred, and she was aware of safety protocols.
Queensland workplace health and safety authorities are investigating the incident.
The zoo, the major venue of its kind in regional Queensland, houses tawny lions and white lions, both species native to South Africa.
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