A woman has suffered significant injuries after being bitten by an animal at a Queensland zoo.
The woman, in her 50s, was attacked at Darling Downs zoo, in Pilton, about 50km south of Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, at about 8.32am on Sunday.
The woman was reportedly watching keepers working when she was attacked. The zoo is home to big cats including lions, tigers and leopards.
A spokesperson for Queensland ambulance said the woman suffered a “significant arm injury”.
The Life Flight rescue helicopter flew her to the Princess Alexandra hospital where she is reportedly in a stable condition.
In a statement on Facebook on Sunday afternoon, the Darling Downs Zoo said the woman was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct when the attack happened.
“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.
“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 zoo said the woman was currently being operated on and that police and workplace health and safety personnel were investigating.
“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.”
“We are extremely grateful to the QAS [Queensland ambulance service], QPS [Queensland police service] and LifeFlight for their prompt attendance and to all of the people and organisations who have rallied round us with messages of support.”
In a follow-up post, the zoo clarified that the “injured person was not one of our immediate family nor a keeper”.
“The animal involved was not an animal which has recently cubbed. The animal will definitely not be put down or punished in any way,” it said.
A spokesperson from Workplace Health and Safety Queensland confirmed it was onsite and making inquiries.
The zoo said it would be closed all day on Sunday but would re-open at 9am on Monday.
The zoo has African lions, including white lions from the Greater Timbavati and Southern Kruger Park region of South Africa. It also has other big cats including a Sumatran tiger and a breeding pair of Sri Lankan leopards, according to its website.
The zoo turns 20 this year and has appointed a “restructuring practitioner” to help “make our commercial structure more fit for purpose” according to the website.
“The zoo specialises in the captive husbandry and breeding of many critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable species from around the world,” the website says.
