A zoo worker had his finger torn off in gruesome attack by a lion after sticking his hand in its cage.
Man has finger torn off after taunting lion at zoo by sticking hand in cage
Video footage which showed the savage attack on a staff member of a Jamaican Zoo went viral.
Moments before the attack, the man is seen taunting the lion and showing off to onlookers by sticking his hand in the cage and waving his finger in its face.
An eyewitness told the Jamaican Observer newspaper: "When it happened, I thought it was a joke. I didn’t think it was serious. I didn’t realise the seriousness of it, because it’s their job to put on a show.
"Obviously, when he fell on the ground everybody realised that it was serious. Everybody started to panic.
"The entire skin and about the first joint of his finger was gone."
The incident has sparked concern for the big cat’s welfare from animal cruelty officials.
Pamela Lawson, managing director at the Jamaica Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said this matter would be investigated.
She said: "We will be going down there and I will be communicating with the National Environment and Planning Agency who has oversight over Jamaica Zoo.”