A South African safari lodge owner who went by the nickname “the Lion Man” was attacked and killed by his own caged cats.
Leon van Biljon, 70, was attempting to fix a broken fence inside the cats’ enclosure when one of the three massive felines suddenly latched onto his neck with its claws and jaws. All three of the lions, Rambo, Nakita, and Katryn, were shot dead by a ranger from the lodge.
“The decision to shoot the lions was made by people on the premises in order to get to the deceased,” Xander Loubser, one of the medics at the scene, said.
According to the company’s website, guests at the Mahala View Lion Game Lodge, located about 30 miles from Pretoria, are promised “first-hand insight” into the large cats and their “nature, habits, and extreme behavior,” with van Biljon feeding and walking beside the carnivores. Visitors can also choose to stay in one of the lodge’s eight “Lion’s Den chalets,” which can only be reached by certain vehicles.
In February of last year, a female guest was attacked by a lioness at another camp while walking with the owner of the company, Kevin Richardson, who is known as the “Lion Whisperer.” A month later another safari park owner was brutally attacked by a lion but survived.
