A female zookeeper in Germany was rushed to a hospital after she was attacked by a lion when she was cleaning its cake.
The worker, who was not identified, was not thought to be seriously injured.
The 25-year-old was working at the Osnabruck Zoo in Northwestern Germany when the attack happened, and she was rushed to the hospital as a precaution.
The woman went to the outer closure of the lions as part of cleaning the enclosure, but she forgot to close the connecting door.
This allowed the lion to get out and attack her from behind.
When the woman realized that she forgot to close the door, it was already too late.
The animal was behind her and she was attacked with its paw.
The zoo said that the employee is not in a critical condition and the staff of the zoo have spoken to her.
A statement was released by the zoo after the incident.
It reads:
We would like to inform you that a zookeeper was injured by a lion in an industrial accident this morning at Osnabruck Zoo. The animal keeper is currently not in danger of losing her life and is being treated in hospital. We wish her all the best and hope that she will be better soon. All five animals were in the enclosure and secured at all times.
The lion was not put to sleep as they are showing normal behavior.
The lion belongs to a pack that lives together in the facility.
Andrea Busemann, the Managing Director at the Osnabruck Zoo, released a statement about the incident.
They said:
We’re all shocked right now and first of all we wish our employee all the best. Fortunately, there is no danger to her life, she is being treated in the hospital. We are very happy that she is doing well under the circumstances.
Andreas Wulftange, the zoological director at the Osnabruck Zoo and the person that is responsible for the African Lions that live in the zoo, said:
She could go back to the nurse’s corridor and get to safety there. She was taken to the hospital in an ambulance where it is currently being treated. We would like to discuss in peace how the incident came about. Our colleague and we are currently in shock and will work through the events in the next few days and get to the bottom of the cause. In any case, our emergency system intervened after the internal emergency call. All colleagues came immediately, helped the colleague and the paramedics and looked after the animals.
Our thoughts and prayers are with the injured zookeeper, may she recover from her injuries fast.