Darling Downs Zoo lion attack victim named as NSW school teacher Joanne Cabban
Ms Cabban was visiting her sister, Darling Downs Zoo owner Stephanie Robinson, during a regular school-holiday trip when she was attacked.
She remains in a stable condition in the Princess Alexandria Hospital in Brisbane, where she has undergone surgery for her injuries.
According to her family, Ms Cabban has been visiting the zoo for 20 years and often took photographs of the animals during her visits, turning the images into calendars at Christmas.
Zoo owner Steve Robinson said his wife and a carnivore keeper had just finished cleaning out the lion enclosure at about 8:30am on Sunday, when they heard a scream and discovered a lioness had bitten Ms Cabban's arm, effectively amputating the limb.
Mr Robinson said Ms Cabban had been standing alone near the holding pen, where several lionesses were being held at the time.
He said another keeper was nearby when the incident occurred, who jumped into action "in a split second" to save his sister-in-law's life.
"She was the first responder in terms of first aid to the incident," Mr Robinson said.
"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.
"The paramedics locally were here very, very quickly … and the LifeFlight helicopter arrived and took her through to the hospital in Brisbane."
Mr Robinson said there was no CCTV of the holding enclosure as the area was not accessible to the public.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is investigating the attack.
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