Terrifying moment circus lion attacks trainer leaping onto him and sinking its teeth and claws in as kids scream

THIS is the terrifying moment a circus lion viciously attacked a trainer in front of screaming children.

Hamada Kouta, 32, a well known performer in eastern Europe, was overpowered by the angry big cat which sank its teeth into his arm and clawed him.

Following the savage mauling in Lugansk, eastern Ukraine, the Egypt-born entertainer manages to fight off the lion which then retreated to its cage.

Describing the attack which was captured on video, Kouta said: “I called up one lion and the second one attacked me from the front.

“The lion jumped at me and bit me - but thank God not on my neck.

“He immediately let me go. My back, arm and leg were hurt.

“Scars from two claws and one tooth are on my leg, tooth marks on my arm, one 4 centimetres deep from three claws on my back.”

The lion jumped at me and bit me - but thank God not on my neck

Lion trainer Hamada Kouta

Later he said: “Of course, I became lame, it hurts everywhere, because these are teeth."

He added: "One tooth was inside the muscle, right there and it is serious" before insisting "but it’s okay."

A mother watching with her two children said: "My heart stopped when the lion pounced at the trainer."

Kouta, who works with ten lions, returned all the big cats to their cages immediately after the shocking attack.

He said: “I calmly called them back, because there were children in the audience.

“Of course, I was covered in blood, but I asked everybody to calm down, and started the performance all over again, from the beginning.”

Kouta said his troupe of lions were unsettled because they were made to perform soon after arriving in a new location.

“They did not have time to adapt, because we arrived and immediately began to perform,” he said.

“They were in stress, so it led to attack. They can be moody, like people."

He added that he has “scars everywhere” on his body.

Speaking about his injuries, he said: “Every scar is an experience. I trust my predators more than people.

"But there is a red line, if you step over – it may go wrong way.

“When an animal attacks a trainer, it is 99 per cent the trainer’s mistake.

“Anyway, they are my children, so I know anything can happen.

“But it will never end with death, because they are my children."

Travelling circuses were recently banned in Ukrainian capital Kiev but rebel-held Lugansk is currently outside the government’s rule.

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