Shocking amateur footage has emerged of a lion attacking its trainer at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The attack apparently took place on September 1 when a male lion attacked his trainer while on display. The trainer was immediately transported to a nearby hospital, where he received stitches. The honeymooning Montana couple that captured the footage, Titus and Drew Ellis, told of their horror.
"We weren't expecting it at all," Ellis said. "It just all happened so quick, you know. All of a sudden he was on top of him, and you could tell it wasn't a playful jump. Just the look on the guy's face when it's all going down," Ellis said. "You could tell he's in major pain and I am sure he was screaming."
Big cat expert Dave Salmoni, who has survived a similar attack, said the lion seemed to show its dominance after the trainer stiffened in its gaze. "What that tells the lion is: that guy's nervous," Salmoni said, likening the attack to a teenager testing its boundaries. "He went in and said, 'I know I'm not allowed to bite people but I'm going to bite you and see what you can do back to me.'"
"It was definitely him saying, 'I'm the boss here'." Columbus Zoo director Jack Hanna said it was probably just rough play. "If that was an attack, it would've been over with in about five-tenths of a second," Mr Hanna said. An MGM spokesperson this week defended the lion habitat, saying the handlers "uphold the highest safety standards at all times."
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