New photos of Lion tamer mauled to death in Egypt circus attack

An Egyptian lion tamer has been killed during a circus performance in Alexandria, northern Egypt by one of the big cats weighing 200kg.

A security source told Al Arabiya.net that Islam Shaheen was a 35-year-old who worked as a lion tamer in the Lion village in Alexandria. He died due to injuries suffered during the attack which happened in front of an audience of children and adults.

Shaheen suffered multiple injuries. He was taken to Andalusian Salam hospital in Smouha area, east of Alexandria but died a few days later.

Shaheen had worked in the profession for 10 years according to his brother, but that he had been caught by surprise by the lion that was a new addition to the show from South Africa.

There’s been conflicting speculation as to the reason behind the attack, with close friend of Shaheen, Seif Ali telling Al-Arabiya.net that the attack happened because the lion was hungry, while another speculated that the lion was startled by loud music.

إسلام شاهين

But circus spokesman, Mohammed Mustafa, denied these claims, stating instead that the attack happened because the lion was in the mating season and was behaving erratically.

Now more photos have come to light that show Shaheen at work, which appear to show how he was able to get close to the lions with apparent complete confidence in previous acts.

The lion has been withdrawn from the shows while a vet follows up on the condition of the lion before determining its fate.

This article was originally published in Arabic on Al Arabiya.net.