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Teacher Joanne Cabban has been identified as the woman who lost her left arm after she was mauled by a lion at a Queensland zoo owned by her sister and brother-in-law.
Cabban, who lives in Parkes, NSW, and works in the nearby town of Forbes, was grabbed by a lioness at the Darling Downs Zoo shortly before 8.30am on Sunday, 30 minutes before the zoo was due to open.
Joanne Cabban lost an arm after she was mauled by a lion at a Darling Downs Zoo owned by her sister and brother-in-law.Credit: Facebook
The lion was being held in a pen while the main enclosure was being cleaned at the time. Cabban had been near the holding pen watching the keepers clean.
Her brother-in-law Steve Robinson said she had been staying with the family while visiting the zoo, which she had done for years.
During her stay, Cabban was working as the zoo’s photographer.
“Each holiday, she drives up from where she lives to the zoo. She stays here with us,” Robinson said.
“She’s been doing that now for over 20 years … the rest of her family is up here – her father, brother, nieces, nephews.”
Cabban is originally from the Gold Coast, having moved to NSW while studying.
On Wednesday morning Cabban remained at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, where she was recovering in a stable condition after having additional emergency surgery on Tuesday.
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The Darling Downs Zoo has remained firm on its decision not to euthanise the animal that injured Cabban, with Robinson telling reporters the lioness had been “just playing”, and not acting in aggression.
“I see words like ‘attack’ used, and I suppose people don’t know what other words to use, but it’s not an attack,” he 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.”
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has launched an investigation, with officers issuing notices for compliance to the company on Tuesday.
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