The veteran employee, Kenichi Kato, had been transferring the lion when it slipped through an open cage door.

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Emergency services rushed to the scene after it was reported a worker had “collapsed” in an enclosure after suffering a bite to the neck.

The park, in Fukushima, said it will remain closed for a while “until safety measures are improved.”

A spokesman said: “It is believed that he was feeding a lion.”

Kato was reportedly luring the lion using food, but may have forgotten to lock a door that should have separated him from the beast.

Vice president of the park Norichika Kumakubo said: “The process is that we open the door, and place the food. Once the food is placed, the door is to be closed and locked.”