A Canadian zoo east of Montreal says it has confined a lion after it attacked an employee, leaving her hospitalised with serious back injuries.
The employee at the Granby Zoo in the French-speaking province of Quebec is in her 20s and has a fracture, but was conscious and in stable condition, director general Paul Gosselin told reporters following the attack on Monday morning.
The exact nature of her injuries was unclear.
It was not immediately clear how the incident occurred.
The zoo is "still trying to understand" the situation, he said.
Other employees were able to get the female lion away from the victim by driving it away with a fire hose, Gosselin said.
He said the zoo was contacting American experts before making a decision about what to do with the lion.
The incident followed two US animal attacks in recent months.
In June, an alligator snatched away a two-year-old boy in front of his family during a vacation at Walt Disney World in Florida. The boy died.
In May, a three-year-old boy fell into an enclosure with a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo. Zookeepers killed the gorilla to protect the child.
Reuters
