A conservationist who raised two 400-pound white lions was mauled to death at his safari lounge on Wednesday.
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According to the New York Post, West Mathewson was playing around with the two white lions, Demi and Tanner, when they attacked him at the Tree Top Lodge near Hoedspruit. Mathewson’s wife tried to save him but his injuries were too severe. His daughter in law, Tehri Fergusson, said Mathewson was engaging in “rough play” with the animals prior to the attack but didn’t provide any other details. She says, “We are still not sure what actually happened but there was very rough play.”
The animals were also responsible for clawing a farmworker to death after escaping their enclosure in 2017.
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Amid the deadly attack, the family says the lions will be released to the wild after they were transported to an endangered species center.
“They are in a safe place now and they will be cared for and loved, and then they will be let loose into the wild, but they will not be returning here,”