A video going viral on social media shows a terrifying moment when a man was attacked by a lioness. The clip initially shows the man patting a caged lion on its back across a netted fence. The lion calmly enjoys the stoking, however, in no time, the scenario changes. 55-year-old Pieter Nortje was on a guided tour in South Africa's Free State Province celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary when the incident happened. The shocking video was caught on camera by his wife Ilze. As Pieter strokes the lion, a young lioness approaches the fence and when the man tries to touch it, she bites him. Lion Attacks Man in This Shocking Viral Video Shot at Marakele Predator Park in South Africa!

Pieter can be heard screaming as the lioness refuses to let go off his hand. His wife who was capturing the entire scene can also be heard crying for help. The video ends as Ilze screams, "It's biting him, it's biting him!" The lioness almost mauled his hand with its teeth penetrating to his right forearm's bones. While the lioness held his arm only for five seconds, he had to be rushed to the hospital after suffering septic shock. Pieter was taken to Pelonomi Hospital in Bloemfontein in an air ambulance. The animal left his arm after being distracted by the screams of his panicked onlookers. Lion Attacks Trainer at Circus in Ukraine Terrifying The Audiences, Scary Video Goes Viral.

Watch the video here:

According to Daily Mail, Tikwe River Lodge, where the incident took place denied all responsibility for the incident saying that Pieter disregarded the warning and put his hands inside the fence. They were quoted as saying, "There are warning signs everywhere. Nortje stuck his hand through the electric fence to touch the lions and was bitten." The report quoted a South African game ranger who saw the video as saying, "The man was lucky that the lioness was probably not hungry or not used to killing live prey outside in the wild."

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2019 07:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).