A horrified woman screams while her husband is mutilated while stroking a lion in a compound

A tourist almost got his arm pulled by a lioness after trying to caress him in front of his horrified wife.

Shocking cell phone images show Pieter Nortje entering a pen through a fence and stroking a lion.

The lion moves away, then Mr. Nortje approaches a lioness and strokes his head.

But the lioness suddenly bites her arm and refuses to let go while she tries to pull him towards the speaker.

The 55-year-old can be seen fighting to defeat the big cat, but fortunately he is leaving before doing any other damage.

His wife can be heard shouting, "He's biting him, he's biting him!" as the lioness locks her teeth on the forearm of the man.

Nortje is said to have celebrated his 10th wedding anniversary with his wife Ilze at the luxurious Tikwe River Lodge in Virgina, Free State Province, South Africa, according to Netwerk 24.

The pair was treated to a guided tour of the lion's enclosure.

He was reportedly rushed to Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein after experiencing septic shock, a life-threatening condition caused by a serious infection and requiring emergency medical treatment in intensive care.

It is said that the survival rate can be between 25 and 50%.

A spokesman for Tikwe River Lodge said that they have been organizing lion enclosure visits for six years without any incident.

The spokesman explained, "There are warning signs everywhere." Mr. Nortje ran his hand through the electric fence to touch the lions and was bitten.

A South African gamekeeper at another park who viewed the video said, "The man was lucky that the lioness was probably not hungry nor used to killing prey living outside of nature. "

He said the lions were beasts of burden and that Mr. Nortje could have been killed if other lions joined him.

Last May, the British owner of safari parks, Mike Hodge, was mutilated by a lion when he entered the compound.

The lion, whom he called Shamba, was shot and Mike had to be taken to the hospital for a rescue operation.