Well-known conservationist mauled to death by two lions he raised
A South African conservationist was killed Thursday by two white lions he had raised from childhood.
West Mathewson, 69, was on a walk with the two 400-pound lionesses when one attacked him suddenly, the Guardian reported.
“He died while living his dream, being in nature and with his lions,” Marina Botha, the Mathewson family’s attorney, said in a statement to the Guardian. “The family is heartbroken by the loss of their husband, father and grandfather.”
While walking with lions is not an everyday activity for most people, Mathewson said in 2017 that he walked with them for three to four hours per day. He ran the popular Lion Tree Top Lodge.
