Teacher Joanne Cabban identified as lion mauling victim at Queensland zoo

Queensland’s Darling Downs Zoo, the scene of Sunday’s lion attack, was a familiar place to teacher Joanne Cabban.

She regularly spent her school holidays there, driving up the Newell Highway from her home in the NSW town of Parkes.

It was an opportunity to spend time with her family – the zoo is owned by her sister and brother-in-law Stephanie and Steve Robinson – and the big cats that call the property in the rural Queensland town of Pilton home.

Joanne Cabban lost an arm after she was mauled by a lion at Darling Downs Zoo, owned by her sister and brother-in-law.Credit: Facebook

Cabban was near a holding pen while the main lion enclosure was being cleaned about 8.30am on Sunday – 30 minutes before the zoo was due to open – when she was grabbed by a lioness.

She lost her left arm in the attack. She might have lost her life had it not been for one of the zoo’s keepers, who used a leather belt as a tourniquet.

Cabban lives in Parkes with her husband Rick, but teaches in the nearby town of Forbes. During her visits to the zoo, she would act as an unofficial photographer, capturing the animals including lions, leopards and cheetahs.

Originally from the Gold Coast, Cabban moved to NSW while studying. She gained qualifications in science, mathematics and teaching at the Queensland University of Technology and then the University of Sydney.

She has taught at the same school – Red Bend College in Forbes – teaching physics and mathematics for more than three decades.

On Wednesday afternoon, a spokeswoman for Red Bend College said the school community was behind Cabban as she recovered.

“Jo Cabban is a much-loved member, not only of our Red Bend College community, but also our broader Forbes and Parkes communities,” the spokeswoman said.

“Our prayers and thoughts are with her and her family.”

Cabban and her husband are keen squash players, taking part in local tournaments. In April, she gained judging accreditation.

At the time of the incident on Sunday, which was “over in a split second”, Cabban was with her sister and a keeper while the main lion enclosure was being cleaned.

Joanne Cabban has taught at the same school in Forbes for three decades. Credit: Nine News

But her brother-in-law stressed she was not in the lions’ holding pen.

“Slightly further away, fortunately – very fortunately – was one of our keepers who’s well-versed in first aid, and she was the first responder in terms of first aid to the incident,” Mr Robinson said.

“She did save her life. 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 and the paramedics locally were here very, very quickly indeed.”

As for the extent of the injury, Mr Robinson said it was “too macabre” to go into detail.

Cabban remained at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital on Wednesday, after having further surgery on Tuesday.

A lion at the Darling Downs Zoo, and Joanne Cabban being airlifted to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.Credit: Nine News

Mr Robinson said Cabban was “not terribly lucid” so it was not clear how the accident occurred.

“We haven’t really pressed for answers as to what she was doing and how this happened,” he said.

“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 thanked the community for its support, noting “nothing like this has ever happened before” in the zoo’s 20-year history.

He said the lioness that injured Cabban was “just playing” and would not be put down.

“I see words like ‘attack’ used, and I suppose people don’t know what other words to use, but it’s not an attack,” Mr Robinson said.

“It’s something that lions do – lions can play with each other like this and not hurt each other.

“Humans are much, much more fragile, and that’s the tragedy.”

A person feeding a lion at the Darling Downs Zoo.Credit: Darling Downs Zoo

Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has launched an investigation, with officers issuing the zoo with compliance notices on Tuesday.

The zoo is a two-hour drive south-west of Brisbane.

The Robinsons purchased the sprawling 49-hectare property in 2001 and the following year moved their animals onto the land and began building the zoo. It opened in 2005 after years of successful breeding programs.

The zoo is listed for sale – animals included – for $6 million, with the owners offering three months’ support for incoming owners.

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