A lion housed at a North Carolina wildlife conservatory killed a 22-year-old worker on Sunday after it got loose from a locked space, authorities said.
The Caswell County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that deputies shot and killed the lion to allow officials to reach the victim, identified as Alexandra Black of New Palestine, Ind.
According to the Conservators Center, a “husbandry team” led by a professionally trained animal keeper was carrying out a routine cleaning when the lion got out. The center said it wasn’t immediately clear how the lion left the area.
“The Conservators Center is devastated by the loss of a human life today,” said the statement, which added that the center would be closed until further notice.
Black, a recent graduate of Indiana State University, had worked at the center as an intern for approximately two weeks at the time of her death.
According to its website, the Conservators Center is home to 15 lions and in total, more than 80 animals.
The facility was founded in 1999 and is in Burlington, about 50 miles northwest of Raleigh.
On its website, the center said it began giving public tours in 2007 and gets more than 16,000 visitors annually. It has more than a dozen employees and currently houses more than 80 animals and more than 21 species.
The center says it took in 14 lions and tigers in 2004 to assist the U.S. Department of Agriculture with caring for animals that were living in “unacceptable conditions.”
