A woman has been mauled by a lion after she got into its enclosure to pose for a photo with the big cat.

Olga Solomina, 46, was enjoying a day out at the Taygan safari park in Crimea, Ukraine, when she got into the lion's enclosure.

She posed for a picture next to an apparently placid lion but, according to reports, got herself into trouble when she placed her hand on the ferocious feline's mane.

The enraged lion launched into a vicious attack, mauling Ms Solomina and trying to drag her her away by the arm.

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Ms Solomina posed for a picture with the seemingly placid lion, who launched a brutal attack minutes after this picture was taken

Luckily, zoo director Oleg Zubkov was nearby and managed to save Ms Solomina by chasing the lion away.

He then got Ms Solomina into a nearby vehicle and drove her to safety.

But incredibly, Ms Solomina then says Mr Zubkov refused to call her an ambulance, ordered a vet to treat her and gave her alcohol to soothe the pain.

Ms Solomina told the Metro: ‘I squatted down and put my hand on the lion as I was told. Next moment it grasped my arm and dragged me like a rag doll,' said Ms Solomina.

‘The other lions jumped to their feet. I closed my eyes in fear waiting to be torn apart by the pride. It lasted several seconds that felt like eternity for me.’

Since the accident Ms Solomina and Mr Zubkov have been bickering about who was to blame for the incident, and about the way Ms Solomina was treated afterwards.

According to reports, Ms Solomina was taken to hospital the next day, where doctors found she had a serious infection from the lion's bite

Ms Solomina eventually had surgery on the arm, but doctors say it's uncertain when she will regain the full use of her injured arm

Mr Zubkov, who rose to fame after a video was shared online of him breaking up a lion fight with his slipper, has said Ms Solomina was to blame for the lion attack because she was drunk and had also tried to the stroke the lion’s mane.

Ms Solomina was eventually taken to the hospital the next day where doctors found she had a serious infection from the lion's bite.

Hospital spokesman Nikolai Vlasov said: ‘The infection got into her body from the teeth of the animal. It is a very dangerous infection.

‘She underwent surgery. Her health condition became better, but she needs further treatment. At the moment it’s still not clear if she will regain full usage of her arm.’

Now, the safari park is holding out on the 1,000,000 RUB (£12,000) compensation Ms Solomina is apparently demanding, saying she signed a disclaimer.