By Lauren Thomson
The Queensland woman who lost her arm in a lion attack has been identified as a 鈥渕uch-loved member鈥 of the zoo owner鈥檚 own family.
The woman, aged in her 50s, was attacked at by the lioness at Darling Downs Zoo, south of Toowoomba, on Sunday.
In a new statement on Monday afternoon, the zoo confirmed the woman was in a 鈥渟table condition in hospital and is surrounded by members of our extended family鈥.
鈥淪he has lost her arm,鈥 the zoo said.
鈥淪he is not an employee, a keeper or a zoo visitor. She is a much loved member of the zoo owners鈥 family.
鈥淚t has still not been possible to interview her to establish what led to this tragic incident.鈥
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Lion attacks woman at Queensland zoo.
The zoo said the woman had been attacked by a lioness but in a bizarre twist, the spokesperson confirmed the victim was 鈥渘ot in (the lioness鈥) enclosure鈥.
鈥淚t was not hungry, skinny, taunted or tortured 鈥 it is a lion,鈥 the zoo said.
鈥淚t comes from a long line of captive born lions in Australia but it is still a lion 鈥 not a pet.
鈥淚t will NOT be put down.鈥
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland has done its full investigation which will allow the zoo to reopen on Tuesday morning.
鈥淲ith a full program of free photo ops, educational talks and paid encounters available,鈥 the zoo said.
鈥淲e very much regret the mis-reporting of this incident by some sections of the media and ask for respect for all of our dedicated staff when we re-open tomorrow.鈥
It鈥檚 understood the woman was watching keepers working in the carnivore precinct at the zoo when a lioness grabbed her arm.
She was assessed by paramedics at the scene before being airlifted to Princess Alexandra Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery.
In an earlier statement on Sunday, the zoo said there was no risk to the public.
According to the statement the woman had observed keepers in the precinct 鈥渕any, many times over the past 20 years鈥.
鈥淪he is well-versed in safety protocols around potentially dangerous animals,鈥 the zoo said.
The regional zoo is owned by Steve and Stephanie Robinson, who began breeding lions in 1997.
The couple tried to sell the zoo in March last year due to Steve鈥檚 deteriorating health.
Only a few months later the couple instead decided to restructure the ownership of the zoo into a trust.
A host of new positions at the zoo were advertised to help better manage the workload given Steve鈥檚 health and the physical demands of the job.
However in March this year the zoo was again put up for sale for $6 million.