Sunrise’s Matt Shirvington has asked how a woman managed to get so close to a lion at Darling Downs Zoo that she was savagely attacked by the animal.

It’s understood the woman, aged in her 50s, was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct at Darling Downs Zoo on Sunday when a lioness grabbed her arm.

She was assessed by paramedics at the scene before being airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. She remains in the hospital in a stable condition.

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Shirvington spoke to big cat expert Alex Braczkowski on Monday, where he posed the question on the minds of millions.

“We’re still learning the details of this incident. But first off, how concerning is it that someone, who wasn’t a keeper, was close enough be bitten by this lion?” Shirvington asked, pointedly.

Braczkowski admitted he was also puzzled by that fact.

“In zoo care and zoo management we have something called protective care where we try protect both the lions and the people (who work with them) and that’s done through isolation and, kind of, spatial distancing,” Braczkowski said.

“The fact that there was a non-sanctioned staff member even in the presence of these big cats is a little bit disconcerting.”

Shirvington pressed the expert about protocols with animals at a zoo and what could have gone wrong.

“I think it’s the overwhelming evidence that probably animals, in this case the lions, and the keepers, and potentially now the friends or family of these keepers, were in close proximity to the lions themselves, which is something that should never happen in these situations.

“The animals should always be in another enclosure than the staff working in that enclosure. So, yeah, something to me doesn’t make sense here.”

Braczkowski admitted even when lions are hand-fed and tamed, they can still have instincts to attack. He spoke about the horrific injuries that a lion can cause with 6cm canine teeth in its mouth.

“I highly doubt that they would have been able to salvage the arm,” Braczkowski said.

“We’re talking about one of the highest poundages per square inch in an African lion. It’s also the sheer size.

“We’re talking about a lioness, which would be 180kg, towering over the victim. And it’s not just the bite force, but then also the mechanical issues of actually scratching the victim.

“So, it’s those two things together that would cause severe lacerations and then inevitably pretty severe blood loss.”