http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/local/4309638.htm Panama City zookeeper mauled by lion
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - A 500-pound African lion mauled a zookeeper who had stepped into the animal's cage Thursday to pose for a magazine photo.
George Koll, 61, was attacked in the head and throat by the male lion. He was listed in critical but stable condition Thursday at Gulf Coast Medical Center.
Koll's nurse, Tracy Schroeder, said he would remain in intensive care through Thursday night.
"He's stable. He's doing fine," she said.
Koll, who owns 77 Zoological Park in Southport, was giving a tour to several reporters for the Jehovah's Witnesses' Awake magazine when a photographer asked him to step inside the lion's cage for a photo, officials said.
"He does it all the time," Steve Kirk, a zoo employee, told The News Herald of Panama City. "He's never had a problem with him. He goes in with all the big cats."
The lion, named Samson, was calm when he entered, then Koll stumbled and fell to the ground and the lion pounced, dragging him across the cage.
The photographer jumped into the cage with a stick and pried the lion off of Koll, zoo employees said.
Samson is one of two lions at the zoo, which opened eight years ago and has more than 400 animals.
Officials said there are no plans to euthanize the lion.
Information from: The News Herald