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Subscribe to RSSDianna Hanson, 24, who had just started interning at California's Cat Haven in January, was attacked and killed by one of the park's lions in the animal's enclosure on Wednesday. NBC's Diana Alvear reports.
A young woman who was working her dream internship at a California private zoo for exotic animals was mauled to death by an African lion.
The woman, Dianna Hanson, 24, was in the lion’s enclosure at Project Survival’s Cat Haven in Dunlap, Calif., Wednesday when the animal attacked her. A worker tried unsuccessfully to lure the lion into another pen before sheriff’s deputies shot and killed it. Hanson died at the scene.
The woman’s father, Paul Hanson, told The Associated Press that she was “absolutely fearless” and fascinated by big cats.
“She was very excited,” he said. “It was just a dream job for her.”
The lion was a 4-year-old male named Cous Cous that was featured on the daytime talk show “Ellen” as a nursing cub. It had been raised at Cat Haven since it was 8 weeks old, The Fresno Bee reported.
On Thursday, the zoo’s Facebook page prominently featured a tribute to the big cat, with the inscription “You’ll live on in our hearts.” The page was flooded with expressions of mourning for both the young woman and the lion, with some commenters wondering why the zoo didn’t also feature a photo of the woman.
The Project Survival's Cat Haven Facebook page, with tribute to lion.
The executive director of the zoo, Dale Anderson, was crying Wednesday as he read a short statement of condolence.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to our friend and to her family,” he said.
It was not clear why Hanson was in the lion’s enclosure.
“They’re lions. That’s all I can say,” Lt. Tony Spada of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told reporters. “Animals. They’re wild animals.”
The AP said at least 21 people have been killed and 246 injured by exotic cats in the United States since 1990. It was the first attack in California since 2007, when a Siberian tiger leapt out of its pen at the San Francisco Zoo and killed a 17-year-old boy.
Federal inspections going back three years show no violations at Cat Haven. The zoo will be closed until further notice.
Nicole Paquette, vice president of the Humane Society of the United States, said the young woman should not have been in the enclosure with the animal.
“These are big cats that are extremely dangerous, and they placed a volunteer in the actual cage with a wild animal,” she told the AP. “That should have never happened.”
This story was originally published on Thu Mar 7, 2013 1:59 AM EST
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"Authorities trying to figure out WHY she was in the lion's enclosure" exactly WHAT is wrong with all these animal lovers who think that they have some special relationship with any animals !
now the lion had to be killed and what purpose did all the protecting the animals do , when careless people put themselves in harms way and then the very animal they are trying to protect has to be killed !
or maybe she was just a nut job and wanted to be one with the lion !
Now she is one INSIDE the lion...
They were bonding, why did they shoot the lion,? He was doing what he does, kill and eat food.
LOL...I am a big animal lover...lol But damn I gots some sense...=)
The cop walked over to the caged and defensless lion pacing his cage and shot him right there. THERE WAS NO REASON TO WHACK The Lion except Being Immoral Stupid Thug Cop Blood Lust. There was No reason for the Intern to be inside the cage with the Big Cat except her Self Delusion Which cost Them Both their lives. California cops are THE LOWEST OF SCUM; they might try joining the "homeland security" or "patriot act" Thugs IF They will have them. The Whole thing is preventable tragedy......
People have been lunch for lions since we climbed out of the trees and set two feet on the savanna. We don't hear much about it in this country because this is not their native habitat. In Africa, people live in fear for their lives if they live out in the bush. As people invade the lion's habitat they naturally defend themselves, even hunt them in a proactive way to reduce their populations. In the long run, as our population grows, we need more preserves to save the big cats if we want to keep them around. These preserves need to be large enough to sustain a reasonable population of the cats, their prey and other species natural to the habitat. And there are a number of these already in place. It's sad if someone working the preserve gets killed, but you know the intern who was killed would want the preserve to continue on with their work and would have wanted the lion to live. She knew the risks and accepted them. Since she was an intern, she probably made a mistake and put her life in jeopardy. Yes, maybe she was enamored with the cats and thought she could "commune" with them, just like Timothy Treadwell who was killed by the bear. People like these, despite their good intentions, need to be protected from themselves as much as possible with proper training. Beyond that, Darwin's law rules.
Sorry Phantom, but it society originally demanded that an animal that has killed a human be destroyed no matter what. It is not fair to blame the cops for following protocol.
Personally, I do not think it is wise to destroy an endangered animal because of somebody else's ignorance, but that is what people want unfortunately. It is outdated logic.
Because this was a cute cat, with the name "Couscous." How could a kitty with the name "Couscous" be dangerous?
Answer: Because it's a cat. If a Siamese cat was big enough, it would eat you.
discgolfdave - People have been lunch for lions since we climbed out of the trees and set two feet on the savanna. We don't hear much about it in this country because this is not their native habitat.
If you live near mountains in the west, you hear about mountain lions frequently. Every year people hiking trails get pounced upon. Sometimes the cats come down from the hills when they are hungry and go after peoples' dogs and cats. Free-roaming lions are a real danger - just like bears. Your cell phone and pricey hiking boots don't make you immune.
The writer of this story needs to go back to school.
It should read: A lion mauled to death an employee of a California big cat park Wednesday.
This writer also makes it sound as though the lion took action authorities had a chance to shoot and kill the intern. What poorly written junk!
A beautiful animal suffers because of typical human stupidity. Unbelievable. No, wait - I can believe it.
My sincere condolences to the family of this young woman. May she RIP. To all you negative trolls, if that were your family member you would have wanted to get help as quickly as possible and that is what they did, end of story!
They did not shoot the lion because it killed the reckless woman - they killed it because it was preventing rescue . "A worker tried unsuccessfully to lure the lion into another pen...."
Someone who is "absolutely fearless" concerning wild animals should be disqualified from working around them. She should have been limited to viewing them in videos. Her interaction with the cats should have consisted solely of making donations for their care.
Why are people surprised? This was a lion, they are one of the animals at the top of the food chain. Lion's kill to eat and they eat meat.
Ban zoos.
Sometimes, When you swim with the sharks. You get eaten by the sharks.
No matter have much you love man eating animals.
Sometimes, big animals see humans as a chicken nugget in a happy meal or a steak burger.
D'oh!
You folks are real asses. People like this young woman love to HELP animals and put enormous effort and sacrifice into doing that. Yes, sometimes bad things happen to them while you sit on your fat fanny in front of a computer screen. Good for you!
Animals should NEVER be killed because of a human's ignorance and stupidity. Humans have the knowledge that WILDlife may act like this on instinct but for some reason have to kill the innocent animal. It needs to stop...the intern knew the risks and what she was getting herself into while taking this job; I am positive if she survived she would NOT WANT the lion killed. May she rest in peace.
They probably shot the lion because it was protecting its' kill, doing what lions instinctively do. Of the woman I suppose you you could say "fools rush in where angels fear to tread".
Very poorly written article. The LA Times has a much better story with much more details.
1) Only 2 intern volunteers were incharge of the park at the time of the attack. Including the dead girl. The professionals only showed up after the fact.
2) She was long past dead when found by her boyfriend who came to visit her.
3) The girl clearly did not follow protocol at feeding time. She was supposed to leave food in a small enclosure while the lion was supposed to be in a larger enclosure. They were found in the same enclosure.
4) Police are withholding information because they know this was a major screw up on the parks behalf.
@davefromdanapointca
I don't know if they changed the lead of this story or not but either way, you are also wrong. The sentence should be in active voice not passive.
I do not agree. If this wasn't routine, she knew better and she broke the rules....if she would not have died, she would have been severely reprimanded over the lack of safety of all "zoo" goers. She not only put her life in jeopardy, but also the lives of everyone and every animal at that place. It seems as thou her grandiose sense of self while in the presence of a wild animal clouded her judgment. I am sorry she needed a hands on experience while being nothing more than a intern. This is unfortunate, I am sorry for her families loss, I would be crushed if this was my child and yes I too would blame everyone else but her...shes my baby, but in the end, she did something she should not have done.
“These are big cats that are extremely dangerous, and they placed a volunteer in the actual cage with a wild animal,” she told the AP. “That should have never happened.”
"They" did not place anyone in any cage. According to our local news in L.A. the park was closed on this day and there were only two people present in the park that day - a caretaker and this jady who was a volunteer. The lady, for some reason known only to herself, entered the cage with the lion thereby encroaching on his territory. The lion did what wild animals do. The efforts that were made to retrieve her body were commendable but did not work.
Now enter the law enforcement phase. It was short and simple - shoot the lion and kill it. HAS ANYONE CONCERNED WITH THIS WHOLE DEBACLE EVER HEARD OF A TRANQUILIZER DART? Using this method should not have been any problem - - the lion was, after all, locked in a small cage.
Well, let's see here. A territorial, possibly hungry, definitely grouchy, apex predator. Add one stupid human. What do you get? Precisely this situation.
I'm sorry that lion had to die because this girl was stupid.
No @!$%#e, she was already dead, it's not like they could bring her back to life, so decided to kill the lion for doing what lion's do. Her being in the lion's cage was her own stupidity. The killing couldn't have been humane, how many times did they have to shoot the lion, the piss ass assault weapon .223 or the handguns the police carry would require many shots to bring a lion down.
Another "wild" animal had to die because of human stupidity. When are we going to learn, even raised in captivity these are "wild" animals. Crap, it took tens of thousands of years to breed the wild out of dogs and some still can't be trusted. We really are the "intelligent" ones, aren't we. I feel bad this happened to the young Lady, but she should have known better. Hell, people that don't work as volunteers with big cats know better. And I'm glad puplic opinion on here feels mostly the same.
You people are all traitors to humanity. Screw that lion. Put a bullet in its head and post it here for you animal sympathizers to cry over. Funny how you all sound like the type that would go in there to feed it just like this woman. R.I.P. Dianna Hanson. Oh well Cous Cous.
According to research done during the breeding of silver fox's for pelts in Russia it was discovered that domestication may have happened in as little as 10 generations, well within the lifetime of 1 human, and may be part of why dogs have been revered by so many civilizations through history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tame_Silver_Fox
richardharrow-
Being closed minded and not having any appreciation or understanding of ALL life forms is what's really killing off this planet.
Phantom, you're as stupid as that girl.
Quoting my post below:
"The reason why we care about animals and the environment is because we could not live without the "circle of life". Human life is the ends, and a balanced ecosystem is the means. Don't get it twisted and cry over Simba when your fellow human has died."
Closed minded? I seem to be the only one looking at the big picture.
Feel a little self important do you? The planet has been around with life on it for billions of years, homo erectus can be traced back about 1.8 million years. According to your argument everything on the planet is here to serve man, or do you believe the earth is 6000 years old and was created in one day?
Max^108, would you like to get off yours and help a cuddly Polar Bear???
@phantom
What a bleeding heart you are! The lion was eating her face when they showed up and shot it. Woulda done the same thing.
Good guy with a gun stopping a bad cat with a bunch of sharp teeth and claws.
Antistupidity,
Yes, you are right, I read about the silver foxes in National Geography. But I am talking about the domestic dog. You let a bunch of them run loose and they can resort back to their wolf-like behaviour and attack humans and animals alike. Guess what I'm trying to say, you cannot look at a wild (handraised) big cat and believe their behaviour changed. (IMHO)
No I wouldn't trust a human raised big cat for a second, even though there are some weird examples of big cats accepting certain people I have seen on some nature shows. Those examples accept one or 2 people, and the people are experienced in the bush and retain a respect for the animals. I have seen a tiger in India that was killed by locals called Broken Tail, I seem to remember a certain cheetah and of course there was Elsa the lioness in the 1950's, but these are rare examples.
A 24 year old woman died and you are talking about the author, the cops, and the lion. WOW YOU PEOPLE are pathetic. How about condolences to the woman's family maybe? Heartless humans in US of A. And people wonder why our nation is going to Hell. It isn't just Politicians that is causing issues here.
"Antistupidity"
"Feel a little self important do you? The planet has been around with life on it for billions of years, homo erectus can be traced back about 1.8 million years. According to your argument everything on the planet is here to serve man"
Man IS the only thing that is important to man. If we don't live on it then who will be here to give a damn? Do I feel a little self important? Your damn right I do! We are the only things that are important. The other beings are important for us to survive that is the reason why we need to preserve animals. And where you got the impression that I am some die hard christian, I have no clue. You are lost. Read harder and get your head out of your @ss.
Hate to bust your self-delusional fantasy bubble, but trust me, in the grand scheme of things, you're not important. Not by ANY stretch of the imagination. The planet would go on just fine without the likes of you. FACT.
richardharrow maybe you should just go by dickharrow, you and people like you are a big part of why the planet is such a mess.
WHY?????? WOULD YOU EVEN WANT TO GET INTO THE PEN WITH A 600 LB MAN EATING PREDATOR?
being fearless does not stop you from getting eaten. sometimes people do not think things through this is one of those times. a shame. if you go to africa and walk out into the grasslands and the jungles you ARE part of the food chain. thats what lions do, they kill prey and eat it. if your gonna work around them or be near them you had better keep this in mind, or you are lunch....
Hey if a human put me in an enclosure for no reason other than to show me off and make money off me, I'd be eating the first human that came into my cage, too. But too bad for this lion, humans *with guns* are dominant and we exact revenge, whether we live in a society claiming to be civilized or not.
Desertbro,
You don't have to go into the mountains to find a cougar (mountain lion). I have seen one in my greenbelt here in Austin. They are much different than the African lion though, and not near as dangerous. Yes, they can kill people, but it's very rare. We are not on their menu except on rare occasions. There are estimates that maybe twenty people in America have been killed by cougars since about 1890. There are individual lions in Africa who have killed as many as fifty people. We are definitely on their menu. A cougar can weigh in at about 140 - 150 pounds for a large male. An African lion can tip the scales at well over 500 pounds. I don't live in fear of the cougars in my greenbelt. If there were African lions there it would be a completely different story.
Antistupidity and Hotticket have never taken a Philosophy class in their lives. No sh*t the world will go on without humans but who would care? If a tree falls down and no one is around to hear it, Does it make a noise? Ever heard that one sh*t heads? Simpletons.
richardharrow
In the big scheme of things you aren't as important as a pimple on the planets ass. Why don't you go stand in a corner and cry you self important nothing.
Please look at the link below. A lot of attention has been given to these kinds of places and the people that run them. The outcome seems to be the same regardless of the circumstances. Always sad for the victims.
http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/fatal-attractions
I've been wanting to take my nieces to the zoo but I've been apprehensive to do so because you hear so much of where a lion or tiger excapes and kills someone.
Really? I don't hear news on a consistent basis of a lion or tiger escaping and killing people. The tiger report in San Francisco resulted in the zoo's constant violations of safety and the tiger was provoked by people who had broken in to the zoo. In this case, the lion was in it's enclosure and a volunteer used poor judgement in making sure the animal was secured in another pen before entering for cleaning, food/water replenishment or any other duties she was encharge of (if that is the reason why she was in the enclosure in the first place). These are the only two cases of animals being killed here in California the last several years where death or escape have been reported. If you are afraid of taking your nieces to the zoo, then you need to look at how often any animal, in your words, "escapes and kills someone" because your fear is clouding the facts of how often this actually happens. It doesn't happen often and it is not a daily, weekly, monthly or yearly accident. It occasionally happens. If you are really concerned about the zoo you want to visit, you can do some research on the facility to find out if they have had any violation reports, otherwise there is no need to be afraid of something happening on your visit.
so where the hell is PETA on this one ??,,,,
@Sammy....
Being snacked on by a lion... I'm sure she was a member..
Well, it's not PETA but in the article the Humane Society person said: “These are big cats that are extremely dangerous, and they placed a volunteer in the actual cage with a wild animal,” she told the AP. “That should have never happened.”
Why is she automatically assuming that "they" placed her in the lion's cage? Maybe she went in their on her own, without them knowing. I seriously doubt that "they" would place a brand-new intern into a lion's cage just like that!
Before all shelters are condemned please look up Shambala ( think I have the spelling correct) founded by Tippi Hendron.
Why the hell did they 'have' to kill the cat?
they killed the lion because just like ALL dangerous animals in captivity or in the wild once they taste human blood, now we are consider a food source and the authorities must kill them !
HEY PETA or any animal lovers, you want to help "STAY AWAY" your careless activity always causes the death of the animal and that means YOU ARE SELFISH !
Mike not all of us are like that...I advocate for the animals but I damn sure gonna make sure I have no impact on a animals life whatsoever....=) Simple truth it's these types that piss me off...why was she in there...=/
@Phantom Beast, I lived in CA for several years; I was in Discovery Bay in Contra Costa County and have actually visited this animal "preserve". However, I have traveled extensively up and down the coast of CA. NUMBER ONE, the LION SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN KILLED. My profession was in criminal law and I retired very young because I had too many morals to deal with POWER HUNGRY cops. I had to move to Myrtle Beach, SC because of my Mother's health. If you think the cops in CA were bad, come over to SC and you will find out the TRUE MEANING of FILTHY COPS. BTW, they think green here refers to their tractors. If you want to see people who have no clue, please watch Myrtle Manor next Sunday night on TLC and you will kiss the ground in CA, trust me!! Here, they could care less about protecting any wildlife, the environment, or anything that advocates human or animal rights. Charleston should remove themselves from the state. I have also lived in Greenville, SC and visited the zoo there ONE TIME TOO MANY! LIONS EAT MEAT and do not discriminate as humans do.
Your life story is not all that interesting . . .
I think it's because they have to do an autopsy and recover as much of the human remains as possible.
They shot the cat because it would not leave her body, EMS didn't know she was alive or dead when they arrived... The other employee tried to lour the cat away but it just sat there..
What is it with all of you nut cases ranting about the shooting of the lion. If you had a daughter/son/wife/husband laying in a cage with a lion and rescuers could not get to them because the lion would not leave the cage you would be the first to pull the trigger, and if this is not so, there is something much more seriously wrong with you then just a lack of judgment. Yes, it is true, this woman caused her own death by her lack of good judgment, but WE don't leave her in the cage for the lion to eat just because all of you nut jobs think the lion's life has to be protected at all costs. I suspect that those of you that are ranting about the cops are people that have been caught breaking the law and resent that you were brought to justice.
How about a tranquilizer dart? By the time sheriff's deputies got there, she was long gone. Killing the lion was nothing more than an act of revenge.
Let me give you a little education, James. We are responsible for taking care of wildlife, and lions are on the endangered species list, humans are not. We need to protect them, not us.
Let me give you a little education Enneagram1, over 98% of everything that has ever walked/crawled/flown on this earth is extinct. Species come and go all of the time, it is the natural way of evolution. I am not advocating for the wanton destruction of lions or any other endangered animal but I do find it rather absurd that you, along with many others seem to think that this woman should have been allowed to just lay in the lions den until some sort of humane way of getting the lion out was found. No one knew if she was beyond saving and if you are saying "too bad for her, the lion needed to be protected at all costs", then I stand by my "nut case" statement. As for darting the animal as some have suggested, first, the darts would have to be found, second, since you are concerned about the lions welfare, a safe dose would have to be determined and third, now that a "safe dose" has been delivered you would have to convince the emergency people to enter into the cage with what appears to be a sleeping lion, with no real assurance that it would not wake up and attack them as well. Of course, since it is not YOU laying on the floor of this cage, you could care less how long any of this takes. While it was unfortunate the animal had to be killed, there really was no other solution if they were going to try and save this woman's life.
James,
real compassionate of you to call people "nut jobs". I'd rather be a "nut job" than somebody like you.
Insulting someone is not the juxtaposition of compassion you "nut job". The reason why we care about animals and the environment is because we could not live without the "circle of life". Human life is the ends, and a balanced ecosystem is the means. Don't get it twisted and cry over Simba when your fellow human has died. Only nut jobs would do that.
James: Your mommie didn't teach you any manners. Shame on her. The #1 rule in this forum is to respect the viewpoints of others. Calling them names is juvenile and shows a limited vocabulary. Guess you fit the bill. Now why don't you go and do your homework like a good little boy.
Enneagram1, when I deal with people who have very limited intelligence, I do have to try and bring the level down to where they can at least make an attempt to understand. I did make a mistake in my post. The actual % of extinct species is over 99 and we humans have been responsible for a very very small slice, much less than .1%. Tell me what exactly did you disagree with, the fact that you had no compassion for this woman and wanted no effort made to save her if it hurt the lion or the fact that you, like so many others, seem to think "too bad for her, it was her own fault"? We are humans and we help each other. When there is a accident we don't say "you caused it so we will not help you" When a boat tips over we don't say "there were too many of you on it so we will not help you" and if some kid or foolish adult finds themselves in a cage with an endangered animal we don't say "too bad for you, we are not going to hurt that animal so you can just die". Where is the compassion for this young lady? O that's right, we are not on the endangered list so her life didn't count. btw, my mommie taught me just fine, now you can go back to watching bambi for the 1000th time.
They shot the Big cat because she was an idiot and went into that inclosure alone, and it had better have been against Zoo rules. There should have been someone with her to distract the cat or they should have put the cat in a space seperate from where she was going to be, so that she could have done what needed to be done in that inclusure.
A lion mauled an employee of a big cat park Wednesday to death in California, authorities said.
This reporter needs lessons on sentence structure.
A sad story, both for the woman and the lion.
Yeah, that opening sentence hurt my brain.
Big cats are fascinating and we love to watch them, but anyone that underestimates them is going to be dead in a hurry. They can move 20 times faster than we can and be on you before you have time to react, and they are so strong they can immediately crush you to the ground and sink their teeth into your neck or head. If they intend to kill you there is nothing you can do about it unless you're armed, and even then the cat has a huge advantage.
Want to see a Cameraman inside a cage with a Lion, Tiger and Bear..all off leash...and controlled only by red meat..that's me in this video clip...never again after reading this story
Sad
She either didn`t know the lion was in the enclosure when she went in or took a chance thinking he wouldn`t attack. All it takes is one forgetful moment or complacency and you`re dead. Sorry for the volunteer and her family but also for the lion. He was a wild animal ,even though bred and raised from a cub at the sanctuary. This breed of lion no longer exists in the wild.
Why kill the lion when he behaves simply as..a lion.
it is always the animal that pays with his life because of peoples' selfishness !
In this case, the human also paid with her life. Worst mistake of her life and last mistake of her life. They killed the lion in an attempt to save the young woman. There was still a chance at that point in time. That OK with you, happy?
Whenever I read these stories about keepers being killed by the animals they keep confined, albeit "humanely", I can never understand why the animal must always be put down for behaving in its natural way. It's the humans who have violated the animal not the reverse. Then of course they replace the animal by confining yet
another one. Seems to me that the keepers should recognize that this is one of the natural risks of their profession.
I just looked at the pictures of Couscous on the website :( What a beautiful cat! I can't believe they killed him. What a total waste. I boycott these places.
Lion does what Lions or any big cat does and the police walk up and KILL him? WTF?
So, he tasted human blood and will forever want to kill humans huh? Talk about myth! It's as if human blood is somehow tastier than other blood. I submit that some PEOPLE just like to kill with their guns. Ask me how I know. Yep, I'm retired police. What that cat did is natural. What that officer did is depravity.
Fred, you are SO right !!!
Fred, they killed the cat to get to the woman, what part of this do you not understand? It had nothing to do with "the lion tasting human flesh". You and the rest of the posters like you really need to look into a mirror and see what animal species you belong to.
That's what I am saying James! It's like there are a bunch of lions are are this thread.
what did the cop shot the cat for . i would like to hear the rest of the story.
Ditto, gotta be more to this.
I don't know, maybe to retrieve the body maybe?
Maybe it wasn't a 'body' yet? They might have been able to save her you know.
They had no choice, they could not lure the cat away because the human being needed medical attention! I am so sick of people valuing a wild animal over a human!
READ THE ARTICLE PEOPLE - the lion was shot when it could not be lured away from the woman. THe cops did not go in with guns blazing.
RIposter while I understnad your position re the value of a human life over an animal if it had been you or your family memebr mauled by the lion how would you feel. In the abstract I agree, but when it comes down to soemone ayou know or love all that abstract thought goes out the window.
This article is USELESS without links to a video.
You are sick to want to see this on film!
Yeah... call it "GIRLS GONE by WILD cat..
When is this madness going to end? It's time to ban ALL lions!
Same song....one or two in every post....boring! Yawn!
The cat sanctuary is home to the rarest of cats, and they kill the cat anyway instead of relocating to another refuge, or maybe even turning it loose into a natural habitat in India or in Africa.
Madireddi - READ THE ARTICLE - they killed the cat when they could not lure it away from the woman and safely extrircate her.
Also please think about this, most wild animals raised in captivity are not releasable into the wild - 1) they are adapted to being around humans which makes it dangerous for them (they have less fear thus are open to human predation) and for the humans (we are easy food source - not strong, or fast); 2) many do not know how to successfully hunt and thus starve in the wild; 3) they may carry diseases that they have acclimated to but that could decimate wild populations, or they could be highly susceptibel to disease in the enviornment they are released into. WHile I agree it would be nice to release these animals back into the wild - specially big cats like this lion (there is some thought that the wild lion population will be gone in 50 years) it is not practical. Lastly if an African Lion was released in India it would be like releasing the lion in Kansas - Lions like this one are from AFRICA.
Cannot believe that the sheriff shot the lion...a rare breed!
Has he heard about DARTING??
It is obviously a human error as this lion was as tamed as can be!
poor girl, poor lion...
It is infuriating - shame shame...
I don't believe that the police are issued a standard darting weapon that they carry on them, a young woman needed medical attention immediately and they could not get the cat away and had no choice, I applaud the police for doing what needed to be done.
Riposter - I agree cops wont carry darting equipment but Matsiengs question while poorly presented should be asked - try it this way - why did the zoo staff not dart the lion before the sheriff even arrived, one would expect a wild animal sanctuary llike this to be equipped with darting equipment and people trained in its use?
Sheesh! In an emergency....trying to save someones life.....a darting/tranquilizer would not be fast enough. Come on, folks, use your heads!
Thank you for taking the time to comment. You didn't read the comments about the LION or anything else. Go tweet yourself, please. Thanks!
ironically just hours ago their was a story on this very website about how lions are about to become extinct in like 20, 30, years,,,,
Please stop blaming the girl; we don't have details. I bet she thought the lion was locked inside part of his enclosure but that the door was actually unlocked, or something of the sort. Mistakes happen, and if you can't reach out a hand of support for her family, but instead want to say something cruel, that says something about YOU, and it's a real shame.
according to the news this am, she was there with her boyfriend at off hours and ignored protocol and went into the cage by herself and invaded the lion's space - because she was stupid, an animal protecting it's environment had to be killed - shame on her
Really!!!! the fact is that a human life was lost, she was someone's child that died, who cares about the frigging cat....
Some people DO care about ALL living creatures - yes, I totally feel bad for her & her family, but I also choose to feel bad that an animal was killed by a human's stupid actions - she chose to go into the cage when she was not supposed to
@RI.... You can't fix stupid.. SHE went into the Lions area... not the lion went into HER area....
here kitty kitty....
I cannot understand the rationale of these people who claim to be animal lovers but proceed to disrespect the animal by invading their space.
It seems that there is a story every few months about one of these nuts going into zoos and climbing in animal's cages, or like the mother that accidentally dropped her child into a cage...
If we truly love these animals, then we should give them space, allow them to breed and above all protect them from these misguided people.
Probably a very good reason not to have zoos, right?
You jack with the bull you get the horn.............
Took the words right outta my mouth. Somebodies checks and balances fell apart at some point, the fact is whether for rescue or conservation (the ONLY reasons I think zoos should be allowed) it should always be remembered that these are wild animals regardless of whether they were raised in captivity or not. I'm no PETA member who thinks along extreme lines but with very rare exceptions these animals need to be left in the wild whenever possible and when not possible they need to be treated as if they were still in the wild---with caution and respect. It took thousands of years to domesticate the animals that live besides us, so these sorts of things should not shock us.
Why are COPS repeatedly so "F'n" stupid when it comes to Animal / Human interactions. Gotta kill the Cat for being a "WILD ANIMAL" what part of wild animal did the cop not understand?? Are they lowering aptitude tests for these guys or what?
They were trying to save the woman's life, Bob! Duh!
She was alive for a short time after the attack.
And, Bob, WHO is stupid? Sheesh!