‘I thought I wasn’t going to live’: A 40-year-old woman recalls fighting a 6-foot lion that attacked her outside her home in Mexico after she went missing during a botched robbery
- Lidia Hernández was attacked by a two-year-old African lion at her home in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on January 31.
- The 40-year-old mother had left her home when she was mutilated by ‘Salomé’, before the owner of the wild animal arrived and regained control.
- Hernández suffered injuries to his leg, arm, and head, and is currently recovering at home, although he has to use a wheelchair.
A mother fought off a two-year-old lion that attacked her in front of her home in the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes.
Lidia Hernández, 40, was leaving her residence to finish washing clothes when she was about to be mutilated by ‘Salomé’ on January 31.
According to reports, the African lioness escaped from her cage during a failed robbery attempt at the residence in the city of Aguascalientes where she was staying.
‘Salomé’ killed two dogs and a cat in the street before showing up at Hernández’s house, according to local reports.
Lidia Hernández survived a lion attack in front of her home in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on January 31. She suffered multiple injuries to her legs, arms and head.
‘Salomé’, a two-year-old African lioness, attacked a 40-year-old woman in front of a house in Aguascalientes, Mexico, on January 31.
Hernández told the Mexican newspaper El Heraldo de México that she initially thought she was being attacked by a human because she could only see a large shadow out of the corner of her eye.
“I remember I was opening the door when I was going out to rinse some pants,” he said. ‘When I opened the door she jumped on me and I said oh my god who attacked me. I thought she was a big shadow, a shadow of a person.
He realized it was a lion when Salome ‘started growling at him’.
The six-foot-long African lion was confiscated from its owner by agents attached to the office of Mexico’s Attorney General for Environmental Protection.
Hernández was able to free himself from Salomé by biting her near the eye, according to Univision.
The lion’s owner, Geovany Javier, 34, was able to regain control of the animal and placed it inside a vehicle.
Geovany Javier (pictured) refuses to provide financial support to woman who was attacked by her pet African lion, ‘Salomé’
Lidia Hernández is already at home recovering from the lion attack that left her with multiple stitches
Lidia Hernández said she had no idea she was being attacked by a lion, mistaking its large shadow for that of a human.
As part of the investigation, both ‘Salomé’ and a nine-month-old male lion known as ‘Cachito’ were seized by the Mexican Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection.
Geovany Javier was placed under arrest and is being investigated for intentional injuries.
Hernández is recovering at home but is in pain from multiple stitches on his arms, legs and head, where he also has a large scar.
She has been relegated to using a wheelchair at home and asks Geovany Javier to assume all the costs of her aftercare.
“Well, I would tell him to take responsibility, to take responsibility and to give me a house to live in, to help me set up a business so that I can support myself and… to give me money to recover,” Hernández said.
However, Geovany Javier, who says he feeds Salomé 15 kilos of meat a day, opposed the idea that he should provide financial assistance for Hernández and his family in the future.
“The daughters want me to support them,” he said. ‘Well, no.’
