The lion grabbed the safari tourist by the neck..

A tourist on a horseback safari was dragged to death by a lion.

Naimi Boy, 21, was with some other travelers near Tzaneen, South Africa, when a young lion suddenly pounced and bit her on the neck.

Naimi had been assigned to ride behind the group as a safety measure, a position usually held by an employee.

However, the group was unaware that a lion was lying in the bushes.

As Naimi passed by, the lion leaped from its hiding place and sank its teeth into her neck.

What happened immediately afterward is unclear, but it is reported that the lion released her and disappeared into the savannah.

Her companions rushed to her aid and took her to a hospital in Tzaneen.

Naimi later told local media: "The bite reached her spine. Two vertebrae were fractured and her spinal cord was damaged."

She also broke her arm when she fell from the horse.

She later suffered a stroke in the hospital, and the bite wound subsequently developed an infection.

After several weeks of treatment, her condition stabilized enough that she was flown to Sweden on Friday, where she is now undergoing treatment in Malmö.

Naemi said: "I definitely had a guardian angel with me. I have numbness in my left side after the stroke, but I can move everything. Doctors say I'll make a full recovery. Who can say that after a lion attack?"

She is still wearing a neck brace and is likely to need surgery, although doctors believe she can recover without surgery.

Naemi said she recognized the lion that attacked her, saying it was about two years old and had been seen near the safari area several times before.

She believes the lion may have attacked her out of curiosity.

Naemi said she only remembers riding a horse before waking up in the hospital, and she believes the trauma has blurred her remaining memories.

She avoids thinking about what might have happened because it keeps her up at night.

Despite the attack, Naemi said she plans to return to South Africa once she fully recovers.

She said: "I had a great time there. I definitely want to go on another horseback safari. But I'll never ride the last one."

The attack, which occurred in early October, saw a zookeeper in Thailand dragged to the ground and eaten alive by a pride of lions.

The horrific attack occurred at Safari World Bangkok when 58-year-old Jian Rangkharsamy got out of his jeep into the lion enclosure.

Witnesses reported that a lion came from behind and then pounced on him—with several other lions quickly joining in.

Visitors honked their car horns and shouted to scare the animals away, but the lions killed Rangkharsamy while his family watched in fear.