A tamer was attacked by a lioness during a circus performance in the Russian city of Novosbirsk. The lioness’ action was recorded in a video posted on Saturday (22).
In the images, two lionesses, which according to the website Mirror are called Vega and Santa, attend the commands of the tamer Maxim Orlov. After making some signs with what appears to be a stick in his hand, Vega steps forward and bites his leg. Some officials who accompanied the act managed to free it from the animal’s clutches with the help of sticks.
But despite the first attack, the tamer decided to continue the show and, shortly after, the lioness attacked him again.
Orlov points a stick towards Vega, who instead of following his commands, drops him to the ground (watch below). Santa, on the other hand, seems to be trying to rein in his companion’s ire, but he can’t.
Faced with the strong scenes, some spectators of the circus start to flee. But, according to the Mirror, despite the scare, Orlov had only a few injuries to his legs and arms.
A woman in the audience, on the other hand, had an epileptic seizure, but she survived. In commenting on the matter, the tamer tried to minimize the attack.
“Cases like those today are very rare, but animals are animals. Vega is five years old and has always been a rebel since childhood. We will negotiate with zoos to exchange her for a lion cub,” said Orlov, who does not intend to retire after what happened.
