Lauren Fagen was attacked by a male lion (Picture: AP Photo/KFSN-TV)

A teenager has survived being mauled by a lion after it dragged her into its cage when she tried to kiss it.

Lauren Fagen, 18, says she was kissing the fur of a male lion named Duma when he suddenly reached through the bars of his cage, grabbed her legs in and began mauling her.

The lion’s female mate also joined the attack, which occurred at the South Africa’s Moholoholo Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, where Ms Fagen has been volunteering since June 16.

She said she was cleaning a feeding cage on Monday when the attack happened.


Duma, a five-year-old lion that had been raised at the centre since he was an orphan cub, was rubbing against the bars from his adjoining cage.



The lion was being ‘very, very friendly’ when the incident began, the Canadian said.

‘I didn’t realise he could stick his paws through. I should have died or lost a leg. It was a miracle that I survived. He could have ripped off my skin and I would have died of blood loss.’

She said her knee was trapped in the cage until several other student volunteers came to her rescue, beating back the lion with a broom.

When the lion attacked, she screamed for help, claiming: ‘It didn’t feel real.’

Ms Fagen suffered about 10 flesh wounds to her legs and feet, requiring stitches and other medical treatment but admits she is lucky to have survived.

She hopes to be released from hospital next week but will need a further two weeks of recovery.

A photo published in a South African newspaper on Wednesday showed her in a hospital bed with both of her legs covered in bandages.

Ms Fagen said she felt a ‘deep connection’ to wild animals, especially big cats, and wanted to explore her ‘passion’ before entering university in September.

Some of the wounds were ‘huge rips’ and holes from fang marks and claws, she said.

Brian Jones, the centre’s founder, said the volunteers are always warned about the risk of attack by the animals and suggested Ms Fagen was to blame.

‘This is quite mild – it’s a miracle it wasn’t worse. She came here telling people that she wanted to hug an animal,’ he added.