An intern was helping do some routine cleaning at a North Carolina wildlife center when a lion attacked and swiftly killed her, authorities said. Visitors were rushed out while the staff and authorities tried vainly to tranquilize the animal and reach the young woman’s body.
But in the end, deputies shot and killed the lion.
Alexandra Black of New Palestine, Indiana, had been at the Conservators Center for about two weeks. The 22-year-old recent college graduate is being remembered for her passionate pursuit of a career working with animals.
“This person’s passion was the zoological industry. This was not this person’s first internship. This person wanted to spend a lifetime around these animals, and I believe that the family was very supportive of that,” the privately run center’s executive director, Mindy Stinner, told reporters Sunday.
Stinner said Black was accompanying professional staff members at the facility near Burlington as they did a routine cleaning of an animal enclosure Sunday when the male lion got free from a separate locked space and attacked, according to a statement by the center. The Caswell County Sheriff’s Office said deputies arrived on the scene and shot and killed the lion after several attempts to tranquilize it or hold it at bay with fire hoses.
“The stress level was high,” Sheriff Tony Durden told WRAL-TV. “I know they’re not used to having a 600-pound animal. And then having a young lady laying on the ground, so, you know, stress.”
Stinner said visitors at the center about 60 miles northwest of Raleigh were hustled out of the park using its safety protocols. Staff said the lion never made it beyond the park’s perimeter fence.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the lion escaped the locked area during the cleaning, and the park was closed indefinitely as part of an investigation.
Black graduated from Indiana University in May with a degree in animal behavior, according to her LinkedIn page. She had also recently worked at Wolf Park in Battleground, Indiana, her family said.
“She was a beautiful young woman who had just started her career, there was a terrible accident, and we are mourning,” the family said in a statement, adding that “she died following her passion.”
In a statement Monday, the center gave details about the lion.
“Our lion, Matthai, was euthanized by first responders by necessity,” the statement said. “Matthai was a 14-year-old male who was born at the Conservators Center shortly after his mother was placed with us following a USDA-assisted confiscation in 2004.”
No problems were found at the privately run, nonprofit nature center during inspections by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in April 2018 or January 2017, according to government reports. The government inspector counted 16 lions, three tigers and two leopards among 85 total animals during the 2018 site visit.
The center was founded in 1999 as an “educational nonprofit dedicated to providing a specialized home for select carnivore species,” according to its website. The site says it houses 21 species. It says it began giving public tours in 2007 and gets more than 16,000 visitors annually.
Stinner said she currently thinks of the facility as a “community zoo.”
Photo via Associated Press
Related Stories
‹
Authorities ID Woman Killed by Escaped LionAuthorities have identified the victim of a fatal lion attack at a wildlife conservatory in North Carolina. Citing a statement from the Caswell County Sheriff’s Office, news outlets report that 22-year-old worker Alexandra Black was killed Sunday after being attacked by a lion in an enclosure that was being cleaned at the Conservators Center. Authorities […]
On the Porch: Holly Lux-Sullivan - Walking You HomeThis Week:
Holly Lux-Sullivan of Heartwood Death Doula & Bereavement Care is a trusted end-of-life guide, grief counselor, and board-certified chaplain with 18 years of experience supporting people through illness. She is a respected death doula whose passion is caring for those at life’s margins, particularly during severe and terminal illness, and normalizing conversations about mortality. An ordained Unitarian Universalist minister, she serves people facing the end of life across central North Carolina. HeartwoodDeathDoula.com
'Worried For Our Future': Authors React to Removal Attempt of LGBTQ+ Books from CHCCS Elementary LibrariesNorth Carolina legislators are pushing to remove 63 LGBTQ-themed books from CHCCS elementary schools, saying they violate state law for being available in libraries.
On the Porch: Deana Joy - Child Abuse in NCThis Week:
Deana Joy has spent her career working in the nonprofit sector with victims of crime. She began by working with victims of sexual violence then, in 2006, she was promoted to Executive Director of a local Children’s Advocacy and Sexual Assault Center. In 2014, Deana began working as the CEO of Children’s Advocacy Centers of North Carolina, the state chapter for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs). In 2017, Deana became a national accreditation site reviewer for National Children’s Alliance, the accrediting body of Children’s Advocacy Centers. Deana currently serves as the Chair of the Children’s Justice Act for the Governor's Crime Commission and is on the NC Human Trafficking Commission, the NCDHHS Safety Design Team, the central region Citizen Review Panel, and the statewide Mass Violence Committee.
Morinaga Celebrates Completed Mebane Expansion and 'Sweet Partnership' With North Carolina, Orange CountyThe Japanese candy company Morinaga held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday to celebrate the opening of its expansion Hi-Chew plant in Mebane.
North Carolina’s Electoral Future May Hinge on Rural Black Voters Who Feel Ignored by DemocratsRoughly 4 in 10 Black voters in North Carolina’s last presidential election said they live in small towns or rural communities.
North Carolina Supreme Court Throws Out Longtime Suit Over Education FundingOn Thursday, the North Carolina Supreme Court threw out longtime Leandro Case ruling and litigation over education funding in the state.
North Carolina’s Photo Voter ID Mandate Can Continue as a Judge Upholds the LawNorth Carolina’s photo voter identification law was upheld on Thursday, as a federal judge set aside arguments by civil rights groups.
'Keeping People Safe': North Carolina's Office of Violence Prevention Reaches 3-Year AnniversaryNorth Carolina's Office of Violence Prevention recently surpassed its three-year anniversary, continuing to use public health approaches to address the issue of gun violence.
Democrat Roy Cooper Needs to Defy North Carolina History to Keep Winning Streak Alive in Senate RaceWritten by GARY D. ROBERTSON and BILL BARROW RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina does not mind electing Democrats as governor, but it is a different matter when it comes to sending them to the U.S. Senate. Roy Cooper, who led the state for two terms, is trying to change that with a campaign that could […]
›
