Teenage British student attacked by lion - but she survives by staying silent

A student had a narrow escape when she being bitten by a supposedly tame lion during a gap year trip.

Lisa Baxter was working in a safari park in New Zealand when the African white lion sunk its teeth into her hands.

The 19-year-old knew that if she screamed she might wake the rest of the pack.

So Lisa calmly patted the lion's nose and freed herself before calling for help from colleagues.

She said: 'If the others in the pack weren't sleeping, I might not have made it home to tell the story.

'Thank God they all stayed asleep.'

Lisa was taken to hospital where doctors put 13 stitches in her wounds.

The student, of Gullane, East Lothian, added: 'My hands were so swollen, I thought they were going to explode."

The lion, called Timba, attacked as Lisa gave a talk to tourists.

She said: 'I was stroking Timba's nose when he just grabbed my hand.

'His teeth were razorsharp and went straight through my skin.

'I knew not to panic, so tapped his nose to get him to back off, but he bit that hand as well.

'Luckily, the second time his teeth didn't stay in my hand for too long.'

Timba was one of a family of five lions in the enclosure.

Lisa added: 'I know Timba was only playing and totally blame myself for what happened.

'I really don't think he was trying to rip me apart or be violent at all. If anything, he thought we were playing because he's only 18 months old.

'But even at that age lions are still huge and I felt like screaming. If I had, I'm sure all the other lions would have come over."

Because Lisa stayed so calm during the attack, the tour group she was guiding were none the wiser until a colleague came to assist her.

Despite her ordeal, she is still determined to become an animal-handler.

She said: 'I still really want to go out to Africa or South America to work with more big cats.

'Animals are my passion. I'd happily meet Timba again.'