Lion owner mauled to death at Gauteng game reserve

File picture: Pexels

File picture: Pexels

Published Aug 20, 2019

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Pretoria - A lion owner at an upmarket private reserve just outside Dinokeng Game Reserve, north of Pretoria, was on Tuesday around noon killed by one of his lions.

It is believed that two of the lions dragged the man around in an enclosure as people nearby tried to come to his aid.

The man, whose name is known to IOL but which has not yet been officially released, is said to have owned the three lions at this reserve, which is located on the edge of Dinokeng Game Reserve, which boasts the Big 5.

It is also believed that the three lions were shot after the attack.

Best Care spokesman Xander Loubser said that Ambu-Link Ambulance Service was dispatched to the farm where the attack took place. Paramedics tried to attend to the man, but he was already clinically dead on their arrival.

The exact cause of the incident is unknown and the circumstances under which the lions were killed is also not yet clear. Loubser confirmed that there were three dead lions on the scene when the paramedics arrived, with one in close proximity to the deceased.

It seemed as if it were two female and one male lion.

It is believed that the lions had to be killed as especially one of them was in close proximity to the patient when the paramedics arrived and it was not safe to approach the patient.

Loubser confirmed that the patient sustained multiple open wounds and had lost a lot of blood. A helicopter was meanwhile on standby to transfer the patient to hospital, but he unfortunately died on the scene.

The police are meanwhile investigating the incident.

The victim and owner of the lions, according to the reserve’s website, offered exclusive lion lectures to the public, as well as feedings and game drives. It is said on the website that there are three lions in the camp, named Rambo, Nakita and Katryn. According to the website “they will capture the imagination of anyone visiting.”

At the end of February last year, a woman was mauled to death at another lodge in Dinokeng.

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