Man Mauled to Death by 3 Lions in Enclosure, All Lions Shot Dead

Samuel Allegri
By Samuel Allegri
August 21, 2019Trending
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Man Mauled to Death by 3 Lions in Enclosure, All Lions Shot Dead
An undated image of a lion. (Pixabay)

A 70-year-old man dubbed “the Lion Man” was mauled to death by three lions on Tuesday morning, after he entered their enclosure in Hammanskraal, South Africa.

He reportedly was the owner of the lions, which were shot to death after the tragic incident.

Best Care spokesperson Xander Loubser said, “Ambu-Link received a call of a lion attack at Dinokeng Game Reserve. We received information that the male (patient) was unresponsive and that a few lions were shot. We were also informed that the patient was not safe to approach as there was still a third lion in close proximity,” reported Rekord North.

Loubser said that medical personnel declared him dead, he succumbed to the injuries by the time paramedics had arrived.

Loubser told News24 that Leon van Biljon, the “Lion Man,” owned some lions on a farm.

He went in the enclosure and was likely fixing a fence while seated with his back towards the lions, then one of them attacked his neck, reported News24.

“The decision to shoot the lions was made by people on the premises in order to get to the deceased,” Loubser said.

“We are awaiting the arrival of the official paramedic to get more information about the incident. It is now a police matter, so the man’s remains have not yet been removed,” Loubser told News24.

Cullinan police spokesperson, Constable Connie Moganedi, told News24 that officers had gone to the scene. She explained the caretaker saw the victim being attacked by the lions and screamed for help, then neighbors came and killed the lions.

On the farm’s website, it said that van Biljon gave lectures about lions and provided game drives and game feedings for attendees.

Fiona Miles, director of Four Paws in South Africa, offered her sympathy to the family of van Biljon.

“However, these attacks can be avoided by not allowing any unnecessary human-wildlife interaction. The fact remains that lions are wild animals and no matter how habituated or tame they might seem, they remain unpredictable and instinctive,” she said.

“The predator’s instinct will seek out certain characteristics and identify easy prey, i.e. the small, weak, slow and sick.”

She added what happens with captive animals having regular interactions with humans is the animal will eventually reach a “breaking point” and the animal’s predator instinct would eventually drive them to attack.

“About 60% of all the reported attacks on human due to predator interaction, involved captive-bred lions, rather than cheetahs or tigers.”

Hunter Fights Off Mountain Lion With Pocketknife and Rocks

Armed only with a pocketknife and some rocks, a hunter fought off an adult mountain lion after it began to stalk him on a moonlit trail in Colorado.

Richard Marriott told Ski-Hi News he was scouting ahead of elk season in Big Horn Park, Colorado, on the evening of Aug. 10, when the sun went down.

As he made his way back under the moonlight, he heard something rustling behind him.

Turning around, he spotted a mountain lion stalking him in the trees.

He starting backing down the path, but tripped over a log, panicking that the animal was at an advantage.

“But luckily, it came up and just kind of swiped my leg,” he told Ski-Hi.

Marriott slashed back with the only weapon he had—a small pocketknife with a rounded tip.

“I didn’t really hit it that great, but I got it enough the cat knew I wasn’t going to lay there and have him devour me,” Marriott said.

Marriott began to grab nearby rocks and launch them, eventually hitting the lion in the head, scaring it off.

The next day local wildlife officials tracked down the mountain lion and killed it, reported CBS4, since it was acting aggressively when officials found it, instead of running away.

The Epoch Times reporter Simon Veazey contributed to this report

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