Horrifying footage that is viral on social media right now shows a zookeeper almost having his arm ripped off by a lion after he tried to pet the wild cat through the bars.

Abdoulaye Wade, a zookeeper, was attacked after sticking his arm through the beast’s cage to impress visitors in Dakar, Senegal.

The predator clamped his jaws around the hand of the zookeeper.

He was terrified and helpless.

Visitors screamed and threw stones as the lion’s head twisted violently and almost ripped the arm of the man.

Abdoulaye tried to bash the big cat over the head until he eventually let go.

The worker ended up having a lot of blood.

Footage that was shared with the public shows the worker taunting the lion moments before the horrible attack happened.

He was shown swiping his fingers through the bars as the giant cat leaped up to swat at them.

The incident happened in February, but it recently went viral.

Abdoulaye was in shock after the incident.

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