PUBLISHED ONMarch 04, 2026 5:20 AMBYEsther LamA 10-year-old girl in Guangdong, China, narrowly escaped being mauled by a lioness during a feeding session.
In a statement on Feb 28, Shantou Zhongshan Park Zoo said that the incident took place on Feb 26 afternoon.
The girl was taken to hospital where she was found to have suffered minor abrasions on her legs and received a rabies vaccination as a precaution. She left the hospital at around 9pm, reported China National Radio.
In a Xiaohongshu video posted on Feb 28, the girl can be seen attempting to feed the lions when a lioness reaches out of the cage and grabs her trousers, pulling her towards the enclosure.
A man holds on to the girl and uses a branch to poke the lioness in an attempt to rescue the girl. He manages to pull her free.
Investigations found that the incident was the result of a lapse in management as "zoo keepers allowed visitors to enter the isolation area to feed the animals".
The zoo's operations have been suspended for a comprehensive review of the zoo's safety measures.
The keeper involved in the incident has also been suspended from duty, according to media reports.
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