Shocking footage shows moments after 'lion whisperer' is mauled by big cat

A world famous lion whisperer is fighting for his life after he was savagely mauled by a big cat he spared last year when it killed a close female colleague. The beast brutally attacked Oleg Zubkov, 57, inflicting serious head, neck and lung wounds, and he is now in a 'critical' condition in hospital. He was inside the enclosure during feeding time at Taigan Safari Park - which he founded - in Russian-occupied Crimea. 'There was terrible panic...the lion dragged the man by the neck like a toy,' said a witness. The beast pulled Zubkov under a viewing platform, a bridge over the enclosure. A female park employee, Tatyana Aleksagina, 58, risked her own life by driving up close in the enclosure with a buggy and throwing a bucket at the lion, which then released Zubkov from its jaws.