MELBOURNE, Australia -- A woman has sustained severe injuries to an arm when she was attacked by a lion at an Australian zoo. The Darling Downs Zoo in Queensland state said the 50-year-old woman was watching animal keepers working in the zoo’s carnivore precinct before opening hours Sunday morning when she was attacked.

A woman has lost her arm after being attacked by a lion at Queensland's Darling Downs Zoo over the weekend officials said.

A zoo worker who had her arm torn off in a lion attack in Australia had known the beast for decades. The harrowing incident occurred at a Queensland zoo on Sunday (July 6) around 8.30am. The woman had reportedly known the lion for 20 years before it pounced at her and caused damage to her arm requiring it to be removed at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.