death by wildlife

[HairOfTheDog]

More details have been released about the recent lion mauling death.

I feel sorry for the woman's loved ones and it sounds like she was a cool person, but her own stupidity and recklessness did get her killed.


29-year-old Katie Chappell ^ (pictured with a Game of Thrones editor) was a tourist who lived in Vancouver, Canada and worked as a visual effects editor on shows including Game of Thrones and feature films.

She rolled down the window in order to get close-up photos. Bad move.

Her family's statement says that she was well-traveled, energetic, and that her passion could not be contained by mere continents or oceans. Chappell went to South Africa to work as a volunteer at a different reserve, one dedicated to saving rhinoceroses and elephants. She had hoped to make a movie about animal poaching, her mother said.

A local was traveling behind Chappell's guided car and took this picture right before the attack.


The local said when Chappel's car stopped near the lions, the male didn’t seem very interested and at that point the lioness didn’t seem bothered either. 'She got up very lazily and stretched out her body. Then suddenly without warning she stood up at the window of the SUV.'

'At first it just looked like an amazing shot of a lion stood up at the window. The lion can only have has its head in that window for around 15 seconds.'

'At that moment the tourist was face to face with one of the most ferocious, incredible and magnificent animals. The lioness was just too powerful. After initially retreating she then came back. The lioness lunged and we saw the driver diving into the passenger seat and punching at the lioness.'

'The lioness was just too powerful. After initially retreating she then came back. It was extremely fast – all over in a matter of a couple of minutes. And all we could do was hoot for help,' the local said.

The local also said it appeared to him the driver did not have a chance to drive off or close the window. The driver was the guide and he was reportedly seriously injured trying to fend off the animal, but is being blamed by some for Chappell's death.

An ambulance was on the scene quickly, but Chappell was dead by the time it arrived. RIP.

[Duchess]

So awful, awful, awful. It gave me goosebumps reading about it. I hope his parents have been able to find a way to live with this. That sounds so trite, I know. The horror of it makes me want to cry :(

The 2-year-old Nebraska boy killed by an alligator at a Walt Disney World hotel in June died after a series of events that would have been difficult to prevent, according to a report that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released Monday.

The report's findings include:

• The alligator that killed Lane Thomas Graves took him in a predatory manner consistent with the reptile's hunting techniques. The boy was standing in ankle-deep water while he fetched buckets of water for a sand castle he was building. Neither the boy nor his family did anything provocative.

• The family was by the lagoon near the hotel around 8:30 p.m., during gator hunting time, to watch the movie "Zootopia" on the beach.

• The alligator took Lane when he bent down. Matt Graves, the father, tried to pry open the gator's mouth that was clamped on his son's head and neck, but the animal broke away.

• A South Carolina tourist spotted the alligator from his hotel porch about 45 minutes before the attack. He said he pointed out the animal to a Disney employee. Just before the attack, he saw children in the ankle-deep water and was going out the door to warn them when he heard the mother screaming.

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