Woman undergoes surgery having lost arm in lion attack at Darling Downs Zoo

A woman has lost an arm after being bitten by a lion at Darling Downs Zoo, in Pilton, about 50km south of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, on Sunday morning 6th July. Emergency services were called to the zoo around 8:30am and the woman was transported to Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital in a stable condition.

The woman, in her 50s, was reportedly watching keepers working when she was attacked. The zoo is home to big cats including lions, tigers and leopards.

She is understood to have lost an arm and is due to undergo further surgery today.

In a statement on Facebook on Sunday afternoon, the Darling Downs Zoo said the woman was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct when the attack happened.

“This is something that she has done many, many times over the past 20 years. 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. 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 the woman was currently being operated on and that police and workplace health and safety personnel were investigating.

“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 organisations who have rallied round us with messages of support.”

In a follow-up post, the zoo clarified that the “injured person was not one of our immediate family nor a keeper”.

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is investigating the incident. The zoo is expected to reopen on Tuesday.

The woman in her 50s suffered a severe injury while watching keepers working in the carnivore enclosure at the Darling Downs Zoo, south of Toowoomba, on Sunday.

Zoo owner Steve Robinson said he had not yet spoken to the woman, but would provide an update once she had undergone surgery.

In an additional statement on Facebook, Darling Downs Zoo noted “the animal involved was not an animal which has recently cubbed.

“The animal will definitely not be put down or punished in any way.”