A gothic model was left with severe facial injuries when she got into a leopard’s cage during a photoshoot in Germany and it mauled her.
Self-professed animal rights activist Jessica Leidolph was airlifted to hospital and underwent immediate surgery after being bitten at a retirement home for show animals.
The big cat named Troja ‘repeatedly kept biting my cheek, ear and head’, she told Bild.
She lost consciousness until coming round to the whirring noise of the ambulance helicopter following the attack on Tuesday in the town of Nebra.
Ms Leidolph, 36, from Thuringia, who has worked as a fashion, portrait, lingerie , swimwear and TV model, is likely to be scared for life.
Officials in Germany said Troja ‘never broke out’, adding: ‘There is currently no danger to the population.’
The leopard is 16 years old and once featured in TV adverts for Panasonic. Troja lives in the cage with another leopard named Paris at the retirement home among 135 resident animals.
The facility is often booked for shoots, but managers are now under investigation by German police on suspicion of negligent bodily harm.
The attack could also see the owner, who has worked for 20 years as an animal trainer for circuses and amusement parks, lose her licence for keeping show animals.
