Lioness Grabs 10-Year-Old Through Bars at China Zoo

Shame on every adult in this video who apparently let a child feed lions at a sleazy zoo in China. The lioness was only acting instinctively when she hooked the 10-year-old girl with her claws through the bars of a barren enclosure, but the zookeeper and the child’s guardians should have known better. Learn more about the lion attack in China that could have turned deadly in seconds, and how situations like this are easily avoided.

Totally Preventable: Lioness Attacks Child at a Zoo in China

According to reports, a zookeeper at Shantou Zhongshan Park Zoo in China allowed the child behind the safety barrier to feed the lions. Within seconds, a lioness reached through the bars and latched onto the child. The zookeeper desperately held onto the girl while she screamed in terror until the lioness let go.

The girl could have easily lost her life in the lion attack, but thankfully sustained only minor injuries to her leg.

Staff apparently believe the lion was attempting to grab the meat from the girl’s hands, and the zoo is investigating the incident.

In nature, lions roam for miles every day, choose a mate, raise families, and hunt for food, but when imprisoned for human entertainment, they’re denied everything that matters to them. The constant stress of confinement can cause psychosis in lions, leading to unnatural behavior, such as bar-biting, self-mutilation, and pacing, as well as increased aggression.

This lion attack should never have happened—and was entirely preventable. Any reputable facility knows it’s never safe to allow the public to have contact in any way with a big cat. To keep yourself and animals safe, never participate in any hands-on animal encounter or photo op, or visit a shoddy facility that allows them.

The Big Cat Safety Act Is in Danger in the U.S.

Big cat attacks like the one the 10-year-old girl survived in China used to happen more often in the U.S. Hundreds of humans and other animals have sustained injuries and even been killed at roadside zoos because greedy people wanted to capitalize on big cats’ allure.

This all changed in 2022, when Congress passed the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA). This law was designed to protect big cats like lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, and cougars, as well as the public, from the dangers associated with private ownership and hands-on encounters with them. The law effectively ended big cat cub petting in the U.S. 

Now, roadside zoo owners and traveling wild animal acts are pushing Congress to undo these important protections for big cats. We need YOU to speak up to keep these protections in place—for both animals and the public’s safety!