A Brazilian teenager was mauled by a lioness in full view of zoo visitors on Sunday, after scaling a six-meter wall and safety fencing and shimmying down a tree into the enclosure, authorities said.

The municipal government of the coastal city of Joao Pessoa said a young man — identified by Brazilian media as Gerson de Melo Machado, 19 — had "deliberately invaded the lioness's enclosure" at the Arruda Camara Zoobotanical Park.

"In a rapid and surprising manner, he climbed a wall over six meters high, scaled the security bars, accessed one of the trees, and entered the enclosure," the government said in a statement.

Viral videos of the attack showed the lioness, Leona, lying next to the glass separating her from visitors, who gasp in shock as the teen shimmies down a tree.

The lioness s

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