Woman nearly mauled to death by lion after failed robbery in Mexico, survives by biting beast back: 'Oh my God who attacked me'

A woman was nearly mauled to death when a large lion pounced on her outside her home in Mexico. The lion was allegedly able to break free from a nearby home after a failed robbery.

On Jan. 31, Lidia Hernández was finishing her laundry outside her home in the central Mexican state of Aguascalientes. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Hernández was attacked by a six-foot-long African lion.

Hernández initially believed that she was being assaulted by a human because she only saw a huge shadow from the corner of her eye.

"I remember that I was just opening the door when I was going to go out to rinse some pants," Hernández told Mexican newspaper El Heraldo de Mexico. "When I opened the door she jumped on me, and I said, 'Oh my God who attacked me.' I thought it was a big shadow, a shadow of person."

Only when she heard the lion starting to growl at her did she know that she was the victim of a vicious animal attack.

Hernández was barely able to escape the lion attack with her life by reportedly biting the lion near its eye. However, the woman suffered multiple injuries to her leg, arm, and head. She was rushed to the nearby Hospital Miguel Hidalgo in critical condition, according to the Daily Star.

Univision shared a video of the 40-year-old woman's severe wounds.

The lion's owner, Geovany Javier, was able to yank the big cat off Hernández and bring the lion inside a vehicle.

The outlet reported, "The feline's owner said that he had all the legal permits to keep her in her home, but some thieves broke into her house to steal it and the animal took the opportunity to go out into the street."

The 2-year-old lion named Salomé reportedly killed two dogs and a cat on the street before attacking Hernández.

Salomé eats more than 30 pounds of meat a day, according to 34-year-old Javier.

Hernández is recovering at her home but has been relegated to a wheelchair because of her injuries from the lion attack. She is demanding Javier pay for her health care bills.

"Well, I would tell him to make himself responsible, make himself responsible and give me a house to live in, help me start a business so that I can support myself and ... give me money to recover," Hernández said, according to the Daily Mail.

Javier reportedly said that he would not pay for her medical bills since the lion allegedly escaped its cage after a botched burglary.

Salomé was confiscated from Javier by the Mexican attorney general for environmental protection. A nine-month-old male lion named "Cachito" also allegedly escaped from Javier's house and was confiscated by authorities.

Javier was arrested and is being investigated for causing malicious injury.

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