Florida Zookeeper Mauled By Lion

WKMG Orlando ^ | October 18, 2002

[Shermy]

PANAMA CITY, Fla. -- A 500-pound African lion mauled a zookeeper who had stepped into the animal's cage Thursday to pose for a magazine photo.

George Koll, 61, was attacked in the head and throat by the male lion. He was listed in critical but stable condition Thursday at Gulf Coast Medical Center.

Koll's nurse, Tracy Schroeder, said he would remain in intensive care through Thursday night.

"He's stable. He's doing fine,'' she said.

Koll, who owns 77 Zoological Park in Southport, was giving a tour to several reporters for the Jehovah's Witnesses' Awake magazine when a photographer asked him to step inside the lion's cage for a photo, officials said.

"He does it all the time,'' Steve Kirk, a zoo employee, told a newspaper. "He's never had a problem with him. He goes in with all the big cats.''

The lion, named Samson, was calm when he entered, then Koll stumbled and fell to the ground and the lion pounced, dragging him across the cage.

The photographer jumped into the cage with a stick and pried the lion off of Koll, zoo employees said.

Samson is one of two lions at the zoo, which opened eight years ago and has more than 400 animals.

Officials said there are no plans to euthanize the lion.

[Shermy]

Ping.

[Clintons Are White Trash]

"Duh, hold my Watchtower and watch this!"

[ambrose]

Now what a shock, a Lion being a Lion!

Anyone who wants to play patty cake with a lion has got to be a Darwin Award candidate.

[swarthyguy]

Here, hold muh human.

[gundog]

He was listed in critical but stable condition.

Good thing he had his lucky ham with him. :)

[scab4faa]

Hey can't you read the sign?? it says DON'T FEED THE ANIMALS!

[Dog]

Never trust a sneaky cat...

[TheEngineer]

The photographer jumped into the cage with a stick and pried the lion off of Koll, zoo employees said.

I suspect that if the photographer was from the NY Times... He probably would have just kept snapping photos.

This photographer has some major cajones.

[Shermy]

Horrified Visitors See Bears Kill Zoo Keeper (Bangladesh)

Florida is notorious for these stories, lions and alligators. Lots of sub-par wildlife attractions and hold muh beer bravado.

Lion Bites Arm of off Female Employee at Busch Gardens in Florida

[BigWaveBetty]

[gitmo]

Any professional zookeeper knows to stay out of their way.

I once got trapped in an area between a mother lion and her cubs when a colleague opened the gate to let them in before I had cleared the area. I played it cool, acting like nothing was going on. She watched me closely as I made my way to the exit.

[Rocksalt]

A friend of mine cares for a rehab cougar and he tells me before he enters the cage to play with it he makes sure the cat is up on it's perch,it likes to be up higher than him,otherwise it feels vunerable.Big cats must be treated with respect,no doubt about that.Whoever that photographer was had alot of nerve to do this rescue.

[Shermy]

Wow!

[TexKat]

It was also reported that Koll had problems with hanging chads a little over a year and a half ago. He is still trying to recover from that. Perhps he was still a bit disoreinted.