When will people learn wild animals are not pets, and do not "like you" like your dog?

Lion mauls, kills intern at California animal sanctuary
Published March 07, 2013
FoxNews.com


Investigation into what provoked lion attack at...

What provoked lion to kill intern at animal...
Authorities are trying to determine what caused a lion to maul and fatally attack a female intern volunteer at a private wild animal park in California Wednesday.
Q13 Fox reports 24-year-old Seattle native Dianna Hanson was identified as the victim of the attack by her father, Paul Hanson.
"Please honor Dianna's memory by helping her favorite cause: preserving the remaining big cats in the world," Paul Hanson said in a statement. "She would ask us to do that for her."
Paul Hanson said his daughter was thrilled to begin her six-month long internship, and that she frequently posted pictures of the animals on her Facebook page, including the lion that killed her. Hanson said she hoped to work at a zoo after the internship ended.
"She was at ease with those big cats," Hanson said. "They liked her."
The victim was attacked and killed when she entered the lion's enclosure, Cat Haven founder and executive director Dale Anderson said. Anderson was crying as he read a one-sentence statement about the fatal mauling at the exotic animal zoo he has operated since 1993.
KMPH reports deputies shot and killed the lion, a 4-year-old named Cous Cous that has been raised at Cat Haven since it was 8 months old, in order to provide medical attention to Hansen.
Sheriff's deputies responding to an emergency call from Cat Haven, in the Sierra Nevada foothills about 45 miles east of Fresno, found the woman severely injured and still lying inside the enclosure with the lion nearby, Fresno County sheriff's Lt. Bob Miller said.
Investigators were trying to determine why the intern was inside the enclosure and what might have provoked the attack, sheriff's Sgt. Greg Collins said. The facility is normally closed on Wednesdays, and only one other worker was there when the mauling happened, Collins said.
Cat Haven is a 100-acre facility just west of Kings Canyon National Park. Since the property opened in 1993, it has housed numerous big cats, including tigers, leopards and other exotic species. It is permitted to house exotic animals by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and is regulated as a zoo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Results of the last 13 inspections by the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service show no violations dating back to March 2010. The most recent inspection was Feb. 4, USDA records show.
Despite state regulations that require annual inspections, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife most recently inspected the facility in January 2011.
"We have to do the best we can with the resources we're provided," said department spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.
The inspector's written comments were "facility in good condition." The inspector checked gates, enclosures, water supplies, drainage, cleanliness, ventilation and the general health of the animals.
Department spokeswoman Janice Mackey said she was unaware if any state regulations would prohibit an employee from entering an exotic animal's enclosure.
She said each species is identified on the permit, and the animals must be used for scientific or educational purposes only.
"We don't allow them to be used as pets," Mackey said.
Actress Tippi Hedren, who founded the Shambala Preserve in Southern California, home to 53 seized or abandoned exotic pets, expressed dismay over the killing of the lion.
"It wasn't the lion's fault. It's the human's fault always. I've got 40 years behind me. I know what I'm talking about," Hedren said.
A movie was made at Shambala several years ago and several people were injured. "Two were nearly killed," she said.
"Lions are one of the four most dangerous animals in the world. There is nothing you can do. When they get a thought pattern, there is nothing short of a bullet to the brain that will stop them," Hedren said.
Nicole Paquette, vice president of the Human Society of the United States, voiced similar concerns.
"She should have never been in the enclosure with him," Paquette said of the victim. "These are big cats that are extremely dangerous, and they placed a volunteer in the actual cage with a wild animal. That should have never happened."
Officials at another big cat sanctuary, Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla., told The Associated Press last year that at least 21 people, including five children, have been killed and 246 mauled by exotic cats since 1990. Over that period, 254 cats escaped and 143 were killed.
Tatiana, a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo, was killed by police after jumping out of its enclosure and fatally mauling a 17-year-old boy and injuring two other people in 2007.
Cat Haven has housed Bengal tigers, Siberian lynx, caracals, jaguars and leopards of various types as well as bobcats native to the area. Anderson described the private zoo several years ago as one of a handful of facilities across the U.S. that has all of the big cat species in one place.
The facility's website says it promotes conservation and preservation of wild cats in their native habitats and offers visitors tours and educational outreach.
Anderson said Project Survival would investigate to see if the intern and the other worker who was on-site followed the group's protocols.
"We take every precaution to ensure the safety of our staff, animals and guests," he said in a written statement.

quote:

"She was at ease with those big cats," Hanson said. "They liked her."

This one liked her right up to the point that he decided he didn't.
I truly hate it for her family, but anybody that fools with even domestic livestock needs to be on guard at all times.
A friend of mine owned a dairy & said that the nature of the beast will come out from time to time even with a gentle milk cow.

As much as it pains me to say it, I , for once, agree with the Humane Society.

These do gooders just don't get it. This one paid a serious price.

I feel for the family.

Hold the phone....

Latest info is the gal was cleaning the main enclosure while the cat was in a smaller enclosure. Big cat figured out the latch and opened it herself.

The girl might have been a bit naive, but hardly worthy of a Darwin award.

quote:

"She was at ease with those big cats," Hanson said. "They liked her."

Of course the lion liked her, she was delicious.

Sorry could not resist.

quote:

Authorities are trying to determine what caused a lion to maul and fatally attack a female intern volunteer

To the 'authorities': Hey guess what? The lion killed her because she was made out of meat. Pretty damn simple.

Bwana Cole is correct, the intern never knew what hit her. She was occupied with cleaning one enclosure, and apparently talking on her cell phone when the cat got in from an adjacent enclosure. The attack broke her neck. At last report, the lion did not actually consume any of the victim.
Cheers,
Tim

quote:

Originally posted by Tim Ferrall:
Bwana Cole is correct, the intern never knew what hit her. She was occupied with cleaning one enclosure, and apparently talking on her cell phone when the cat got in from an adjacent enclosure. The attack broke her neck. At last report, the lion did not actually consume any of the victim.
Cheers,
Tim

Just goes to show how powerful a full grown lion is.

The girl was naive, but she still deserves our sympathy. She had a family, friends etc...

Never turn your back on most animals. Even a common billygoat can do damage.

Did you see the following?

"Family members said Friday they don't believe it was a mauling, but rather a lion's rough play that turned tragic."

It's amazing how often humans anthropomorphize animal motives to justify their aggressive behavior. Apparently the gate enclosing the lion, while the intern was cleaning the larger encloser, was ony partially closed and the lion was able to lift it, free itself, and attack.

It's a lion.