Sister-in-law visited lions ‘about 80 times' before losing her arm

The Age

6 days ago

Robinson said his sister-in-law remained in a stable condition at Brisbane's Princess Alexandra Hospital, where she was undergoing more surgery on Tuesday morning.
'Emotionally, both her and my wife are on a rollercoaster,' he said.
Robinson said at the time of the incident, which was 'over in a split second', the woman was with her sister – Robinson's wife and co-owner Stephanie Robinson – and the zoo's carnivore keeper.
But he stressed she was not in the lions' holding enclosure, where they were being held while the main enclosure was being serviced.
'Slightly further away, fortunately – very fortunately – was one of our keepers who's well-versed in first aid, and she was the first responder in terms of first aid to the incident,' Robinson said.
'She did save her life.
'She actually took my wife's leather belt off and applied a tourniquet.
'Very quickly, the first aid kit was there and we wrapped her up in a thermal blanket and the paramedics locally were here very, very quickly indeed.'
As for the extent of the injury, Robinson said it was 'too macabre' to go into detail.
The woman was a teacher who was a frequent visitor during the school holidays, Robinson said, and was well-versed in dealing with lions.
'The rest of her family is up here – her father, brother, nieces, nephews,' he said.
'Each holiday, she drives up from where she lives to the zoo. She stays here with us.
'She's been doing that now for over 20 years. If you're looking at, say, 20 by four, you're looking about 80 times she's been up here and she has done exactly what she was doing on the morning of this accident.'
Robinson said they believed the lioness was 'just playing' and not acting with aggression.
'I see words like 'attack' used, and I suppose people don't know what other words to use, but it's not an attack,' he said.
'It's something that lions do – lions can play with each other like this and not hurt each other.
'Humans are much, much more fragile, and that's the tragedy.'
Robinson said Workplace Health and Safety Queensland had not ordered the zoo to close and had done a thorough investigation.
The Robinsons recently celebrated 20 years of running the zoo on a 49-hectare parcel of land that property records show they bought for $35,000 in 2001.
There has been a long history of big cat maulings at animal exhibits in Queensland.
Last September, a 47-year-old Gold Coast tiger handler was mauled while she was walking the animal at Dreamworld, suffering lacerations and puncture wounds.
Also at Dreamworld, in 2011, a Bengal named Kato bit two Dreamworld tiger handlers – one in May and one in September.
Kato was transferred to Symbio Wildlife Park in NSW the following year, where he died in 2018 aged 16.
There were also a string of tiger-related injuries at the Sunshine Coast's Australia Zoo last decade.
In November 2013, 120-kilogram Sumatran tiger Ranu bit 33-year-old handler Dave Style on the neck and shoulder in front of horrified onlookers during a public show at the popular attraction, made famous by the late Steve Irwin.
The following July, another tiger, Juma, bit an Australia Zoo handler on the calf during a routine walk.
And in 2016, another handler received deep scratches to his arm and head after Ranu swatted at him with his paw.