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WHAT was intended to be a cute photo memorabilia with a baby lion became a nightmare when the animal turned and gave Singapore tourist, Madelein Querk, a ferocious bite.
The 28-year-old was posing with the one-year-old lion for a photograph when the incident happened at a South African wildlife park on May 13.
She was bitten on the left side of her face and also had lacerations on her arm and leg when the cub clawed her.
Her four cuts were between 4cm and 8cm long, reported South African publication Times Live.
Ms Querk and her husband, who were holidaying for two weeks, were at the Tshukudu game lodge on Sunday, which was the same day they were scheduled to return home.
While it is unknown if Ms Querk was carrying the cub at the time of the photograph, it was reported that her husband attempted to distract the lion by hitting it with his camera before the staff at the park intervened.
She was treated at the Nelspruit Mediclinic and is believed to have returned to Singapore on Thursday.
The lodge is a 5,000ha private wildlife reserve of unspoilt bushveld close to Hoedspruit in Limpopo province.The website says it is renowned for rehabilitating orphaned animals.
Lodge manager Eric Gander, who had just returned from Johannesburg, said on Monday that action will be taken about the lion's future after an investigation is carried out.
He told The Straits Times that the accident was a first for the lodge since it opened some 30 years ago.
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