A wildlife park boss whose throat was torn out by his own lions may have been attacked by the same ones he saved from being put down after they killed a keeper.

Taigan Lion Park director Oleg Zubkov is fighting for his life after the horrific attack while he was feeding the big cats, it emerged on 22nd June.

Astonishingly, he was only saved by the heroic actions of his press secretary, Tatyana Aleksagina.

Local media reports in Russian-occupied Crimea say Tatyana first rammed one lion with an electric buggy.

Then as the beast clamped its jaws around Zubkov's neck and dragged him away, she followed it armed with only a bucket and a plastic broom.

As the lion chewed at her boss's neck and chest, she beat it furiously with her makeshift weapons and drove it away.

People help the director of the Crimean safari park after lion attack, June 22, 2025. Oleg Zubkov was feeding the animals. Note: Photo is a screenshot from a video. (Newsflash/NX)

Disturbing CCTV footage apparently shows Tatyana and another park worker dragging motionless Zubkov back through the undergrowth to the buggy.

Medics say Zubkov is on a respirator fighting for his life in an intensive care unit after a three-hour operation to repair his ripped trachea.

Chief Crimean thoracic surgeon Andrei Doroshenko told local media: "The patient has a damaged trachea, torn by the lion's teeth.

"He has damaged the muscles of his neck, the chest and collar bones are damaged on both sides with active bleeding.

Picture shows Tatyana Aleksagina who came to the aid of Oleg Zubkov, undated. He was attacked by lions at the Taigan Park in Crimea. Note: Private photo. (Newsflash/NX)

"A large pectoral muscle on the left was torn off. Now he is in intensive care, in serious condition."

Now, in an ironic twist, it has emerged that the lions that attacked Zubkov could have been the man-eaters he saved from being put down after they killed a keeper last year.

Head keeper Leokadia Perevalova died while she was cleaning the lion enclosure, but forgot to seal off the big cats' access door.

Within moments, the lions attacked and killed her and her gnawed body was discovered in the cage by her horrified colleagues.

Zubkov refused to allow the lions to be euthanised, saying at the time: "We saw that during the cleaning of the enclosure, the sliding gate between the outer and inner enclosures, where the cleaning was taking place, was not closed.

"How did this happen, and why didn't Leokadia Vladimirovna close this gate?

"It's unlikely that anyone else could have opened it, and the animals definitely couldn't and there were no unauthorised people in the area where the lions live.

Oleg Zubkov

"I think this was a case of human error, perhaps forgetfulness."

But police investigating her death believe she could have been attacked by the same lions.

One police source told local media: "Preliminarily, these are the same lions.

"They were brought to the park by Zubkov from Mariupol and they were the ones that attacked the park employee last year, killing her."

The investigation continues and it is currently unclear what will happen to the lions that attacked Zubkov.

(Joseph Golder / newsX)