Woman loses arm in lion attack at Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland

The woman attacked by a lion at a regional zoo in Queensland lost her arm in the horrific incident.

It’s understood the woman, aged in her 50s, was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct at Darling Downs Zoo when a lioness grabbed her arm.

She was assessed by paramedics at the scene before being airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital.

The woman lost her arm in the attack and underwent emergency surgery.

She remains in hospital in a stable condition.

The zoo closed following the incident.

In a statement issued on Sunday afternoon it said a member of staff was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct when an animal “grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it”.

“At no stage did this animal leave it’s enclosure and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public,” the zoo said.

According to the statement the woman had observed keepers in the precinct “many, many times over the past 20 years”.

“She is well versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals,” the zoo said.

The animal involved in the incident will not be put down.

“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,” Darling Downs Zoo said.

The popular attraction is expected to reopen at 9am on Tuesday.

The regional zoo is owned by Steve and Stephanie Robinson who began breeding lions in 1997.

The couple tried to sell the zoo in March last year due to Steve’s deteriorating health.

Only a few months later the couple instead decided to restructure the ownership of the zoo into a trust.

A host of new positions at the zoo were advertised to help better manage the workload given Steve’s health and the physical demands of the job.

However in March this year the zoo was again put up for sale for $6 million.