ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT — A viral video from Egypt this week shows the moment a lion tamer was attacked by a very untamed lion.

The incident went down in front of a horrified audience that included screaming children at a circus in Alexandria.

Islam Shaheen was using a stick to command one lion to move forward, while another was climbing a ladder. The performance was seemingly going as planned until a third lion pounced on him from behind.

And that’s when the circus performance suddenly turned from entertaining, to horrifying. The lion reportedly took a bite out of Shaheen’s neck and then mauled him. Other tamers tried to help by poking the 200-kg cat with sticks.

Shaheen died two days later at a local hospital. He was 35.

According to Al-Arabiya, a spokesman said it was mating season, and the lion was therefore acting erratically. He’s been withdrawn from the show until a vet can examine him and decide his fate.