On Sunday, a male gorilla attacked a sentinel while cleaning and feeding his barn at the Madrid Zoo.

He broke her arms and injured her in the head, according to the park administration and the ambulance authority. 

The zoo stated - in a statement - that the guard (46 years) was carrying out daily morning work in an inner area of ​​the park protected by a triple door, when she found herself face to face with the male gorilla, Malabo (29 years).

The statement added that "the zoo team managed to remove the animal, and then a veterinary team anesthetized it with a sedative arrow, and then it was returned to its barn, where it calmed down."

The police and the zoo management are trying to figure out how the gorillas got into the protected area.

The ambulance service indicated in a tweet that the guard - who has been working in the park for 19 years - was urgently taken to the hospital while she was in critical condition.

The zoo reported that Malabo was raised by guards since birth, and he is usually "close to his caregivers".