As humans continue the good fight to remove all performing creatures from the confinements of the circus, lions are doing what they can to make their own roars of desperation heard.

But whether it’s the emergence of mobile phones, or just the subconscious frustration of lions spreading throughout the world, more and more keepers are being mauled during shows.

The latest attack is awful, if only for the screams of the children who were watching on.

As a lion performed on Sunday afternoon in Doullens, northern France, it turned to its keeper and attacked him at the throat, mauling him until smoke was pumped into the arena as a distraction tactic, reports Times Live.

The lion “eventually lets go of the keeper, allowing him to scramble to safety”.

The woman who was able to capture the video, Sevda Binici, wrote in her post:

It’s my girl who screams in the video, she cried all night.

Check it:

Between the music, the screams and the clearly agitated lion, that’s one shitty situation.

But even worse? Although the man who was mauled “was rushed to hospital where he underwent a successful five-hour surgery”, the lion will reportedly stay at the circus and resume his performances when his keeper returns.

I wonder how that encounter will go down.

Closer to home, there’s the case of the five lions which escaped from Kruger Park last night, attempting to catch cattle along the highway N4 in Mpumalanga. They have been spotted under a bridge close to the border of Swaziland, and eNCA are updating the story here as it unfolds.

WATCH: Five #LionsOnTheLoose that escaped Kruger Nat Park have been located about 60km from Mananga border with Swaziland. Chopper en route. pic.twitter.com/kRdN9AwCaz

— Michael Appel (@TheMikeAppel) May 9, 2017

[source:timeslive&enca]