Australian diplomat mauled by lions in Zimbabwe

Australian diplomat mauled by lions in Zimbabwe

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By Staff Reporter

A YOUNG Australian diplomat was mauled by lions at a wildlife park in Zimbabwe but survived because her boyfriend scared the animals away.

Gemma Huggins, 27, was visiting the Lion and Cheetah Park outside Harare when a lion grabbed her by the head and shook her, reports said.

The diplomat, who had arrived in Zimbabwe on her first foreign posting a month earlier, was lucky to survive after the lion's teeth came within millimetres of her jugular vein, the Australian Sunday Telegraph newspaper reported.

The paper said she was attacked by more than one animal.

Huggins was treated for severe injuries to her head, neck, torso and legs and had several skin grafts at Unitas Hospital in Pretoria.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that a diplomat from its embassy in Harare had been hospitalised after an unspecified incident at a wildlife park.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he would not discuss the details of the case.

"I gather she is all right, and I'm obviously relieved that she's all right, but she has asked for us not to publicise her case and talk about the situation, so I'll respect her wishes," Downer said.

Huggins, who was recovering at home in Canberra after weeks of extensive treatment in South Africa, was still too traumatised to speak about the March 4 incident.

On visits to the Lion and Cheetah Park, tourists are allowed to touch the lions.

One recent visitor to Zimbabwe, writing on her website, said: "Going down to the Lion and Cheetah park, close to Lake Chivero, we were entertained by lions, monkeys, civet cats and a giant turtle.

"I was allowed to enter the lion's den on foot and petted a real, life-size, lion. However, when it started waiving its paws at me, possibly to play, I made sure he wouldn't hit me with them. No such issues with the cubs with which we also got to play. Lots of fun and they really are like big cats."
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