There’s always a risk when it comes to wild animals

The shocking attack on a child and her mother at Dublin zoo this week is not the first time lives have been put in danger in zoos across the world.

In 1998, a near-identical attack took place at Oklahoma City, when a zookeeper was mauled by an adult female Malaysian tapir and left in a critical condition.

The worker, 34-year-old Lisa Morehead, was attacked after entering the normally docile animal’s enclosure to leave its morning meal.

By the end of the onslaught, which was over in minutes, her left arm had been severed from the mid-bicep area and considered by doctors to be “too mangled and contaminated to reattach”, her lungs had been punctured, and her throat crushed.

Like in Dublin, the US attack came as Morehead was entering an enclosure which was home to the female tapir and her 2-month-old calf.

The zookeeper, who a year after the incident was still undergoing four hours of physical and psychological medical help every day, postponed her wedding while recovering.

In 1999, she filed a civil lawsuit against the zoo’s management. The case, which sought a five-figure sum in damages, was thrown out in May 2002.

Claims were also made by one former co-worker that Morehead was attacked after she started “playing” with the baby tapir, an allegation she denied.

Dublin Zoo was involved in another life-threatening incident in Jul 2006 when two individuals, who witnesses said were drinking, chose to scale a 6ft-high timber barrier and a 4ft wall to enter the Siberian tiger enclosure.

One of the party, a 16-year-old girl, was rushed to hospital after putting her hand through a third wire mesh protective fence, which stood 20ft high.

One of two tigers who were resting nearby then ripped into her limb and attempted to drag the girl into the enclosure.

“The tigers obviously reacted the way tigers would, they are wild animals,” said a senior zoo manager.

In Nov 2012, Maddock Derkosh, 2, fell into the African wild dogs enclosure at Pittsburgh Zoo after being perched on a railing by his mother. He fell onto a protective net but, due to his size, bounced into the enclosure and was set upon by three of the animals.

While zookeepers drove away two of the dogs, one refused to leave. The child’s autopsy showed he survived the initial fall.

In 2004, a 13-year-old western lowland gorilla weighing more than 300 pounds reacted furiously after being taunted by watching children.

He climbed the 16ft walls surrounding his enclosure in Dallas, Texas, and proceeded to attack four people — including a 26-year-old woman and her 3-year-old son. At one point the gorilla placed the boy in his mouth and began gnawing. Frantic zookeepers shot the animal. All of those who were attacked made a full recovery.

In three separate incidents between 2006 and 2009, a giant panda called Gu Gu caused significant damage to overly enthusiastic visitors at Beijing Zoo in China — some of whom had ignored safety warnings and entered the animal’s enclosure.

The most serious attack by the 240-pound panda was on a 15-year-old boy whose legs were so badly bitten and slashed at that his shin bones could be seen. Zookeepers had to use tools to release the teenager from the still-alive panda’s jaws.

Despite the graphic incidents, however, there have also been some equally eye-catching good news stories to come from potential tragedies — showing the extreme sides of the animal kingdom.

In 1986, a 5-year-old boy called Levan Merrett fell into the gorilla enclosure at Jersey Zoo in the UK.

Onlookers panicked and grew increasingly concerned the unconscious child would be attacked when a male silverback gorilla appeared.

However, instead of hurting the child, Jambo the gorilla stood protectively over him, preventing other animals coming close until zookeepers were able to bring the boy to safety. Jambo is now commemorated on local Jersey stamps.

A mirror-image of the miraculous feat occurred a decade later, in 1996, when a female gorilla called Binti Jua saved a 3-year-old boy in Chicago.