Published: March. 7, 2013 at 2:05 AM
FRESNO, Calif., March 7 (UPI) -- A lion that had spent most of its life at a California sanctuary killed a female volunteer intern Wednesday afternoon, officials there said.
A Fresno County sheriff's deputy who responded to the call at Cat Haven in Dunlap killed the lion, The Fresno Bee reported. The refuge, operated by Project Survival, is in the Sierra foothills 40 miles east of Fresno.
Another worker who was with the 26-year-old woman tried to get the lion off her, officials said.
CNN reported the victim's father identified her as Dianna Hanson, 26.
"Dianna really loved her six-month month internship at Cat Haven," Paul Hanson wrote on Facebook. "She and I drove down there from Seattle on January 1 & 2. She was so excited at working in Cat Haven and living in California. Once there, she gave me the tour and showed me all the big cats there with which she would be working."
The African lion, Cous Cous, was a 4-year-old male who had been at the sanctuary since he was 8 months old, officials said.
Dale Hanson, who founded the sanctuary in 1998, talked to reporters Wednesday afternoon but released little information about the attack or why the victim was in an enclosure with the lion. He said the sanctuary will review its procedures.
Lt. Tony Spada, the local state Fish and Wildlife warden, said his department and the sheriff's office will investigate the attack.
"This place has a good history -- up to this point," Spada added. "This is a situation where somebody was too close to a lion."
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