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Darling Downs Zoo Reopens After Lioness Mauling Leads to Arm Amputation

Police, together with workplace safety authorities, are examining zoo protocols after a lioness mauling left a visiting teacher critically injured.

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Overview

  • Joanne Cabban, a schoolteacher from New South Wales and sister of the zoo’s co-owners, lost her left arm when a lioness bit her through a holding pen during routine cleaning on July 6.
  • A trained carnivore keeper applied a makeshift tourniquet using a leather belt and helped stabilize Cabban before she was airlifted to Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital for emergency surgery.
  • The family-run zoo remained closed for two days for procedural reviews and staff briefings before reopening to the public at 9 a.m. local time on July 8.
  • Darling Downs Zoo confirmed the lioness never exited its enclosure and has ruled out euthanasia, emphasizing there was no broader risk to visitors or staff.
  • Workplace Health and Safety Queensland and the Queensland Police Service have launched a joint investigation into the incident’s safety and enclosure protocols.