Lion expert weighs in on horror mauling at Darling Downs Zoo

Questions are mounting after a woman lost her arm in a lion attack at Darling Downs Zoo. This is what a leading expert in lion behaviour said.

A lion being fed by a staff member at Darling Downs Zoo.

Questions are mounting over how a lion was able to maul a woman at Darling Downs Zoo on Sunday, after it was revealed she lost her arm during the attack.

Dr Alexander Braczkowski, scientific director of the Volcanoes Safaris Kyambura Lion Project, completed a PhD on African lions at the University of Queensland and is a research fellow at Griffith University’s Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security.

He offered several possibilities as to why the incident may have happened.

He said lions are naturally afraid of humans, but those raised around people lose that fear and can become braver when interacting with humans.

“In Tanzania, they might run if they see us on foot,” he said.

“Lions have evolved for millions of years to be afraid of us naturally.

“If lions are hand reared with milk bottles and intimate human contact, they’re not seeing people as a threat and that fear factor is down. If you went on a safari, drove up and jumped off (the vehicle), they would run away.”

Darling Downs Zoo is the only place in Queensland where visitors can feed a lion with tongs, separated by just a metal barrier.

NSW teacher Joanne Cabban has been identified as the zoo keeper who lost an arm after being attacked by a lion.

Other apex predators, such as tigers, can only be fed at Dreamworld, but they’re behind glass and fed with tongs. Australia Zoo once offered tiger encounters, but they are no longer listed on their website.

Only a handful of zoos nationwide allow visitors to feed lions.

Dr Braczkowski suggests feeding animals this way could make lions associate humans with food.

“Not many zoos internationally (let the public feed apex predators),” he said.

The international standard for zoos is called protective care, a strict system designed to keep humans and animals in separate enclosures. This approach minimises risks by preventing direct contact, ensuring the safety of both visitors and animals.

“There’s no chance for this kind of thing to happen because there is no contact between animals keepers,” he said.

Steve and Stephanie Robinson have owned and managed Darling Downs Zoo for more than two decades.

The packed car park of the Darling Downs Zoo two days after a woman lost her arm in a lion attack.

Speaking to reporters outside the zoo on Tuesday, Mr Robinson said while the exact circumstances are yet to be determined, the lion was not at fault.

“The best we can come up with at this stage is the lion was just playing,” he said.

“How she was playing with a human in that circumstance is yet to be determined.”

Dr Braczkowski said that even if lions are playing, they are still wild animals and people should still exercise caution around them.

“You’re dealing with a wild animal that weighs over 200kg. The problem is it is such a large animal, any kind of sheer size disparity, power … even if it’s playing it can do immense damage to a person,” he said.

He agreed with Mr Robinson that the lion wasn’t at fault.

“It’s not the lion’s fault because the lion didn’t ask for someone to be in its proximity. They have no ability to converse with us. We are intimately responsible for those animals. If your dog at home attacks a cat, or attacks you, is it at fault if you had steak in hand?” he asked.

Despite the negative attention lions have received since the attack, he emphasised they remain a vital cornerstone of human culture.

“They’re just incredibly important to our history, our culture, they’re intimately important because we coevolved alongside them, they’ve shared a lot of our history.”

Workplace Health and Safety is investigating the incident.