Warning
BIG CAT ATTACK
Terrifying moment Brit keeper is dragged away by lion before being savaged by beast
THIS is the terrifying moment a Brit zookeeper was dragged away by a lion before being savaged.
Distressing footage has emerged online after Mike Hodge was attacked by the big cat at Makarele Predator Centre in South Africa.
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Mike and his British family ran the lion reserve together at Thabazimbi, which grew from a sanctuary they initially built for breeding, and to keep lions in safe surroundings.
In the footage, which has reappeared on Reddit this week, the lion spots Mike after he enters its enclosure and chases him towards the metal door of the facility.
In astonishing scenes, the elderly park owner is dragged like a rag doll towards some bushes.
Onlookers scream for help while the animal paws Mike, who does not appear to be moving.
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The lion then drags him further into the bushes but then gunshots ring out and the lion is scared away.
But the predator remains near the victim while more shots are fired into the air.
One girl who is watching the attack is heard crying in horror as another man shouts for someone to “get a rifle”.
A ranger was forced to shoot Shamba dead after the lion refused to move away from the 72-year-old following warning shots.
Luckily Mike survived the ferocious attack after being airlifted by air ambulance for life saving surgery.
He suffered severe bite and claw wounds to his neck and back and had a broken jaw in the 2018 attack.
His step-daughter Emma, 32, and wife Chrissy nursed him back to health.
At the time owner Mike said he was "devastated" at the loss of Shamba, 10, who was shot dead by a park ranger in order to save his life and allow him to be rescued from the enclosure.