SYDNEY—A man was mauled by a lioness at a wildlife park in Darwin on Friday and rushed to hospital with arm injuries, officials at the facility said.
Peter Davidson had muscle torn from the bone of his arm after apparently putting it through the cage bars.
“A girl came to me and said someone had been bitten by one of our lionesses,” Charlie Manolis, chief scientist at Crocodylus Park, told the Northern Territory News.
Manolis said the man was employed by the park and was getting rid of weeds near the lion enclosure when Shebe, 9, attacked.
“We’re not sure exactly what happened but it seems he put his arm through and she grabbed him. He had big lacerations on his arm but was capable of moving his fingers.”
Park owner Grahame Webb told ABC radio it was not clear why the man put his arm into the cage. “I still can’t come to grips with why someone would,” he said. “I wouldn’t put my arm in with a lion if my life depended on it.”
Crocodylus Park has more than 1,000 crocodiles in its collection, as well as other wildlife including big cats, primates, and birds.