Woman attacked by lion at Darling Downs Zoo undergoes second round of surgery

The woman lost her arm after being mauled by a lioness at the Queensland zoo and was flown to hospital to undergo emergency surgery.

The woman who lost her arm to a lion at a Queensland zoo will undergo another round of surgery, days after the attack.

Joanne Cabban lost her arm in a lion attack shortly before 8.30am on Sunday at Darling Downs Zoo near Toowoomba.

The NSW teacher, the sister of Stephanie Robinson, who owns the zoo with her husband Steve, was rushed to Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane to undergo emergency surgery.

On Thursday, Ms Cabban will undergo another round of surgery for her arm, which was mauled by the lioness.

Joanne Cabban lost her arm in a lion attack at Darling Downs Zoo Picture: 7NEWS

Mr Robinson told reporters the incident was not “an attack” and believed the lion was “just playing”.

He explained his sister-in-law was not holding the lioness during the incident and was familiar with the big cats over the zoo’s 20-year history.

“We’ve raised these lions ourselves,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “Their temperaments are excellent. We can still interact with them through the mesh of the cage.”

Co-owner Stephanie Robinson snuggles up to a lion behind the fence. Picture: Supplied

Visitors are able to feed the lions behind a fence. Picture: Supplied

He said a staff member was nearby when the incident occurred and acted quickly to treat the woman.

“She actually took my wife’s leather belt off and applied a tourniquet,” he said. “Very quickly, the first aid kit was there, we wrapped her up in a thermal blanket and the paramedics locally were here very, very quickly.”

A keeper feeds the lions with a visitor at Darling Downs Zoo. Picture: Supplied

He told reporters the zoo had never experienced a lion attack before.

“We’ve got theories but until we get fact, I’m not going to be speculating or running with any what ifs or maybes or anything like that,” he said.

“We’re still processing in our minds and coming to grips with not just what happened but what happens next.”

The zoo shared a statement on Monday announcing that it would reopen as normal and confirmed the lioness “would not be put down or punished in any way”.

Darling Downs Zoo opened in 2005 and specialises in captive husbandry and breeding of critically endangered and vulnerable species.

Originally published as Woman attacked by lion at Darling Downs Zoo undergoes second round of surgery