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W. Washington woman killed by lion at Calif. animal park
komonews.com ^ | March 6, 2013 | GOSIA WOZNIACKA

Posted on 03/07/2013 2:52:57 PM PST by ilovesarah2012

DUNLAP, Calif. (AP) - Authorities are trying to determine what provoked a lion at an exotic animal park in Central California to attack and maul to death a 24-year-old intern from Washington state.

She was attacked and killed Wednesday when she entered the male African lion's enclosure at Cat Haven, about 45 miles east of Fresno, authorities said. Sheriff's deputies found her severely injured and still lying inside the enclosure with the lion nearby, said Fresno County sheriff's Lt. Bob Miller.

Another park worker couldn't lure the lion into another pen, so deputies shot and killed it to safely reach the wounded woman, but she died at the scene, he said.

Paul Hanson, a Seattle-area attorney, identified the victim as his daughter, Dianna Hanson, of the north Seattle suburb of Brier, Wash. He said he dropped her off at Cat Haven on Jan. 2 for a six-month internship.

"It was just a dream job for her," he told The Associated Press late Wednesday, adding that she hoped to parlay work at the facility into a job with a zoo later in the summer. He said she gave him a little tour and showed him the lion Cous Cous that authorities said killed her.

Hanson said his daughter had worked with big cats before and "was absolutely fearless," though she told him she would not be allowed to go in the lion cage.

(Excerpt) Read more at komonews.com ...


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: california; intern; lion
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1 posted on 03/07/2013 2:52:59 PM PST by ilovesarah2012
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To: ilovesarah2012

Birds gotta fly, lions gotta eat.


2 posted on 03/07/2013 2:53:44 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: ilovesarah2012

another eco-nut?

remember the guy in NYC who did this last year?

I wrote a parody of that guy:

http://asspos.blogspot.com/2012/09/i-want-to-marry-tiger.html


3 posted on 03/07/2013 2:57:23 PM PST by GeronL (http://asspos.blogspot.com)
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To: ilovesarah2012

Anyone that has ever owned a house cat should know better than getting in the cage with any large cat.

Cats are given to random playful roughousing that is bad enough for a 10 pounder. They don’t know where to draw the line.

Its not likely that the lion intended to kill; they play rough with their own cubs too.


4 posted on 03/07/2013 3:00:33 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: ilovesarah2012
Authorities are trying to determine what provoked a lion at an exotic animal park in Central California to attack and maul to death a 24-year-old intern from Washington state.

Yes, please continue to struggle to determine what your average kindergartner could figure out in two seconds.

But first they have to go through the checklist:
1) Was it a hate crime?
2) Were any specially-protected groups involved?
3) Did it involve a high-powered assault rifle?
4) Was the mauling justified in order to promote officer safety?
5) Was the lion, in fact, a pit bull?
6) Was the attack the result of a history of human-on-lion oppression?
5 posted on 03/07/2013 3:01:29 PM PST by fr_freak
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To: GeronL

>> “another eco-nut?” <<

.
Or a feather-head.

Like “Rene” in Colorado that reached through the tiger cage to rub the tiger’s nose, and ended up feeding him.


6 posted on 03/07/2013 3:04:47 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: ilovesarah2012
Authorities are trying to determine what provoked a lion at an exotic animal park

Really? A young woman, with little common sense (obviously), enters the enclosure of a LION, said lion does what lions do, and they need to determine a cause?

I really blame the portrayal of wild animals as something other than what they are. That they need OUR protection. Never is it emphasized that wild animals are unpredictable and deadly. Beautiful to look at; but, only those professionals that have worked with animals like this for years should be allowed anywhere near their cages.

7 posted on 03/07/2013 3:06:13 PM PST by LibertarianLiz
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To: ilovesarah2012

From TV news reports - she was one of only two employees on duty that day. Feeding time for the lion was at 10:00 a.m. and no-one knows why she was in the enclosure at 12:00.

Her father’s description of her ‘passion’ indicates she may have had a ‘fatal attraction’ AKA a special connection to these dangerous animals. It seems she over-estimated her capability to control and under-estimated the natural predator instincts of the lion.

She sadly played with fire. RIP.


8 posted on 03/07/2013 3:08:05 PM PST by sodpoodle (Life is prickly - carry tweezers.)
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To: ilovesarah2012

Was she on her period? Apparently even a trained lion will attack a woman on her period.


9 posted on 03/07/2013 3:08:18 PM PST by allmendream (Tea Party did not send GOP to D.C. to negotiate the terms of our surrender to socialism)
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To: sodpoodle

That’s what can happen when you give up your spot at the top of the food chain.


10 posted on 03/07/2013 3:10:01 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: fr_freak
.
7) Did the girl walk in on the Lion at an embarrassing moment?
11 posted on 03/07/2013 3:10:28 PM PST by editor-surveyor (Freepers: Not as smart as I'd hoped they'd be)
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To: dfwgator

Life imitating art.

I expect the Dog Whisperer and other TV shows inspire a lot of young people to careers in veterinary medicine.

This ‘romantic’ young woman wanted to be another Joy Adamson as in Born Free.


12 posted on 03/07/2013 3:16:40 PM PST by sodpoodle (Life is prickly - carry tweezers.)
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To: ilovesarah2012

Why did it attack? ‘Cause it’s a lion!


13 posted on 03/07/2013 3:30:41 PM PST by GJones2 (Lion attack)
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To: editor-surveyor

YOU are exactly right. That’s why we sleep with our bedroom door LOCKED...to keep our 13 lb cat at bay...He can be VERY mean...and I could just see him going for a jugular in the middle of the night...just for the fun of it!


14 posted on 03/07/2013 3:31:19 PM PST by goodnesswins (R.I.P. Doherty, Smith, Stevens, Woods.)
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To: ilovesarah2012

There’s a reason they’re called wild animals. RIP.


15 posted on 03/07/2013 3:31:26 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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To: ilovesarah2012
"She was at ease with those big cats," he said. "They liked her."

Shouldn't we wait for the lion to publish a review first.

16 posted on 03/07/2013 3:32:52 PM PST by SeaHawkFan
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To: dfwgator

I can’t think of a good reason for her to go into his cage, it cost her life and the cat’s life also. Link to pics of the cat: http://cathaven.com/Galleries.aspx?catid=10


17 posted on 03/07/2013 3:34:51 PM PST by Rusty0604
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To: ilovesarah2012
Hanson said his daughter had worked with big cats before and "was absolutely fearless,"

Fearless creatures generally go extinct, unless they have the means to deal with any threat to their well-being, ranging from being able to outrun or eliminate that threat.

18 posted on 03/07/2013 3:38:41 PM PST by Zhang Fei (Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.)
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To: sodpoodle

Exactly. It seems she was over-excited about her job to the point of not thinking.

“Absolutely fearless?” That’s not smart when working with wild animals, especially big ones. And I say that as a lifelong animal lover.

It’s a tragedy. God be with her family.


19 posted on 03/07/2013 3:52:14 PM PST by CatherineofAragon (Support Christian white males---the architects of the jewel known as Western Civilization)
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To: ilovesarah2012

It’s sad when nature intrudes on fantasy. Poor kid.


20 posted on 03/07/2013 3:55:43 PM PST by JimSEA
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