Circus lion attacks schoolteacher as students watch

In Peru this week, a teacher's lesson on animal interaction took a savage turn when she was attacked by a lion in front of her students.

The class of students visiting Monaco circus in Peru thought they were in for a show when their teacher - named by local news outlets as Roxana Guevara Huaraca - was invited into the lion's cage to demonstrate that there was nothing to fear from the big cat.

Unfortunately, that wasn't true.

Warning: some readers may find the footage distressing.

The lion was expected to jump from one raised platform to another over the participant's head - but instead pounced on her and seized her by the neck.

The lion then dragged the helpless teacher around the cage ring for over ten seconds before trainers were able to force a the release.

She was hospitalised, but her injuries were non-fatal. Local media report that police are investigating, and both the circus and the lion trainer could be liable for endangering the public.