A lion at a Jamaican zoo bit off a zookeeper’s finger in front of horrified visitors on Friday. The incident took place at Jamaica Zoo in St Elizabeth, Jamaica Observer reported.
Disturbing footage shared on Twitter shows that the zookeeper had put his hand inside the lion’s enclosure, reportedly in an effort to put on a show for visitors. He proceeded to try and pet the snarling big cat. The ill-advised stunt went seriously wrong when the lion clamped down on the man’s finger and refused to let go. What ensued what a horrifying tug-of-war which ultimately resulted in the keeper’s finger being ripped off.
(Disclaimer: Some viewers may find the following visuals disturbing)
An eyewitness told local news outlet Jamaica Observer that the lion bit off the top of the man’s finger, right up from the first joint.
“When it happened, I thought it was a joke. I didn’t think it was serious. I didn’t realise the seriousness of it, because it’s their job to put on a show,” she said.
“Obviously, when he fell on the ground everybody realised that it was serious. Everybody started to panic,” she added.
The mishap occurred in front of about 15 zoo visitors, some of whom were filming the scene.
The injured zookeeper got up and walked to a vehicle and left the zoo.
In a statement Sunday, the Jamaica Zoo said it was aware of the incident and was assisting their injured contractor.
“The actions displayed in a video by a contractor to Jamaica Zoo are tragic and do not represent the safety procedures and policies that must be adhered to at all times at Jamaica Zoo,” said the facility in a statement accessed by Loop News.
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