Authorities are trying to determine what caused a lion to maul and fatally attack a female intern volunteer at a private wild animal park in California Wednesday.

Q13 Fox reports 26-year-old Seattle native Dianna Hanson was identified as the victim of the attack by her father, Paul Hanson.

The victim was attacked and killed when she entered the lion’s enclosure, Cat Haven founder and executive director Dale Anderson said. Anderson was crying as he read a one-sentence statement about the fatal mauling at the exotic animal zoo he has operated since 1993.

KMPH reports deputies shot and killed the lion, a 4-year-old named Cous Cous that has been raised at Cat Haven since it was 8 months old, in order to provide medical attention to Hansen.

Sheriff’s deputies responding to an emergency call from Cat Haven, in the Sierra Nevada foothills about 45 miles east of Fresno, found the woman severely injured and still lying inside the enclosure with the lion nearby, Fresno County sheriff’s Lt. Bob Miller said.

Investigators were trying to determine why the intern was inside the enclosure and what might have provoked the attack, sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Collins said. The facility is normally closed on Wednesdays, and only one other worker was there when the mauling happened, Collins said.

Cat Haven is a 100-acre facility just west of Kings Canyon National Park. Since the property opened in 1993, it has housed numerous big cats, including tigers, leopards and other exotic species. It is permitted to house exotic animals by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and is regulated as a zoo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Results of the last 13 inspections by the Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service show no violations dating back to March 2010. The most recent inspection was Feb. 4, USDA records show.

Despite state regulations that require annual inspections, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife most recently inspected the facility in January 2011.

“We have to do the best we can with the resources we’re provided,” said department spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.

The inspector’s written comments were “facility in good condition.” The inspector checked gates, enclosures, water supplies, drainage, cleanliness, ventilation and the general health of the animals.

Department spokeswoman Janice Mackey said she was unaware if any state regulations would prohibit an employee from entering an exotic animal’s enclosure.

She said each species is identified on the permit, and the animals must be used for scientific or educational purposes only.

“We don’t allow them to be used as pets,” Mackey said.

Actress Tippi Hedren, who founded the Shambala Preserve in Southern California, home to 53 seized or abandoned exotic pets, expressed dismay over the killing of the lion.

“It wasn’t the lion’s fault. It’s the human’s fault always. I’ve got 40 years behind me. I know what I’m talking about,” Hedren said.

A movie was made at Shambala several years ago and several people were injured. “Two were nearly killed,” she said.

“Lions are one of the four most dangerous animals in the world. There is nothing you can do. When …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News