Darling Downs Zoo, located in Queensland’s Pilton, has provided some clarity after a woman was airlifted to hospital following an incident involving one of its big cats.
On Sunday, at about 8.23am, emergency services were called to Daling Downs Zoo after a woman in her 50s suffered a “significant arm injury”.
Hours after the woman was airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital, Darling Downs Zoo issued a statement, clarifying what happened on Sunday morning. However, it did not reveal what animal was involved in the incident.
“At approximately 8.30 this morning a much loved member of our family was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct,” it began.
“This is something that she has done many, many times over the past 20 years. She is well-versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals.”
Further in the statement, the zoo claimed that she wasn’t bitten by a big cat, but instead was “grabbed” which caused “severe damage”.
“Inexplicably, at this stage, one animal grabbed her by one arm and caused severe damage to it. At no stage did this animal leave its enclosure, and there was no risk at all to staff members or members of the public,” the statement continued.
The Queensland-based zoo went on to confirm that the woman was in a stable condition and thanked police and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for their help.
“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,” the zoo said.
“The zoo will be closed all day today and tomorrow.”
In a second statement, Darling Downs Zoo clarified that the woman was “not one of our immediate family nor a keeper”. It also stated that it would not be “punishing” or putting down the animal involved.
At the time of writing, the zoo hadn’t identified what animal was involved. However, according to its website, it’s home to a variety of big cats including lions, tigers and leopards.
It also offers a “big cat encounter”, where customers can “go behind the scenes” and feed some of their big cats.
While the zoo will be closed tomorrow, it confirmed that it will be reopening at 9am on Tuesday.
Per ABC News, a spokesperson for Workplace Health and Safety Queensland said inspectors are on the ground and making further enquiries in regards to the incident.
Image source: 9News.
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