This is the heartbreaking moment a lion suddenly turns and attacks its circus tamer as the audience screams during the performance in China.
Shocking footage shows the dangerous confrontation between two lions and their tamer on a caged circus stage in Dongning City in northern China during a performance last week.
The male lion attacked and jumped on the man during the show on September 22, while the female lion stood by.
The tamer managed to escape the lion’s grasp and the video showed him running to the other side of the cage with the lions hot on his heels.
“When the two lions were released, a male lion came out first and circled the female lion,” an eyewitness said.
Shocking footage shows the dangerous confrontation between two lions and their tamer on a caged circus stage in Dongning City, northern China, during a performance last week
The male lion attacked and jumped on the man (pictured) during the show on September 22, while the female lion stood by
‘At that moment both lions were together and the keeper had to intervene with a stick to separate them.
‘The male lion then turned on the tamer, causing chaos in the cage and scared onlookers fled.’
The performance was immediately halted after the attack and the circus paid refunds to the audience.
One day after the attack, the mayor of Suining Town said the tamer was not bitten by the lion, but suffered injuries to the arm.
He added that the circus had received approval for their performance in the area.
The circus has since dismantled its performance space and left Suining Town.
This comes after another shocking incident at a Chinese circus where two lions escaped into the audience and caused a stampede in April.
The tamer managed to escape the lion’s grasp and the video showed him running to the other side of the cage with the lions hot on his heels (left). The lion showed its dangerous teeth as it roared in the cage (right)
This comes after another shocking incident at a Chinese circus where two lions escaped into the audience and caused a stampede in April. Video footage shows the lions suddenly breaking free from the iron fence separating the stage from the audience during a performance in Luoyang, Henan province
Video footage shows the lions suddenly breaking free from the iron fence separating the stage from the audience during a performance in Luoyang, Henan province.
Terrified spectators tried to protect their children and left the event hall when one of the lions took to the street.
Authorities confirmed that the animal that escaped the play area was quickly captured and no one was injured.
In January, another supervisor was attacked by a lion during a circus performance.
Footage showed the beast attacking and biting 42-year-old Alexey Makarenko during a performance for shocked families.
His wife Olga Borisova, 43, also a trainer, ‘saved his life’ by chasing off the predator as it forced him to the floor of the circus ring in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Alexey Makarenko, a professional trainer, was attacked by a lion while performing at the Sochi Circus in Russia. He is pictured with wife and fellow trainer Olga Borisova and a lion in an earlier appearance
The drama began when two male lions started fighting during a performance in the 1,200-seat arena.
Makarenko intervened to try to stop the brawl, prompting a furious response from a third lion who attacked the trainer and knocked him to the ground.
Borisova rushed to help and used a whip to scare the lion as the lights went out and staff went into emergency mode, deploying water cannons and ‘sound grenades’ to scare off the beasts.
Makarenko recovered and threw a prop at the lion to chase it out of the ring of the Sochi State Circus.
Amazingly, the pair bowed and hugged in front of the audience as if nothing had happened.
The experienced lion tamer suffered cuts from the attack.