A conservationist and lodge owner was shot dead by two 400-lb white lions after the animals “failed” to wrestle and attacked him.
The big cats, named Tanner and Demi, attacked father-of-four West Mathewson (69) for his terrified wife Gill during “rough play” while taking them for their daily walk.
Brave Gill tried to distract the lions and warned neighbors, but by the time paramedics arrived at Tree Top Lodge in Hoedspruit, in the Limpopo province of South Africa, nothing could be done to save West.
West is the second person to be thanked after being attacked by the rescued lions. They abused a local man after they escaped from their home in 2017.
He saved them from a cruel death when he bought them from a park where lions are bred until they are old enough to be shot for hit by trophy hunters.
(Image: Facebook)
The five-year-old lions, who were regularly taken with children and guests to West’s farm, were calmed down and moved to another playhouse in the area after he killed him.
The lion guard died after a game of wrestling with two lionesses “got a little rough”, the Times reported.
West played with Demi and Tanner when “instincts got better from one of them” and he was fatally injured, the report added.
West daughter-in-law Tehri Mathewson told the newspaper that the lions “would definitely not be slaughtered”.
(Image: Facebook)
(Image: Facebook)
She added: “West loves those cats as much as his children and spent much of the day with them every day.
“They did not mean any harm to him and it was just a tragic accident.
“They will continue to be loved and protected until the day they leave this earth.”
In a separate interview, she told the Telegraph that the death could be the result of “rough stuff”.
She added: “We have to realize, West was not as young as he thought he was. We are not sure yet what happened, but it was played very rough.”
She said the lionesses did not try to eat her father-in-law.
More than 2,000 visitors had paid to interact with the lions in the lodge.
A family friend said: “West brought those lions into his life when they were only a week old and he bottled them every day and they were like his children and he loved them.
(Image: Facebook)
“He played with her and walked with her every day for hours and thousands of guests interacted with her every year and they never showed signs of turning.
“It looks like Tanner and Demi were a bit out of place and West was just in the wrong place in the wrong place and they focused their attention on him and he was badly abused.
“Gill followed him as he walked with her into her car, but she could do nothing but sound the alarm, but by the time help arrived he was already bleeding.”
Limpopo police spokeswoman Brigadier Motlfela Mojapelo said: “It is believed that the two lionesses attacked the deceased during one of their regular walks with their owner.
“The incident took place when his wife looked helpless. The police and emergency services were activated, but the man was found with multiple injuries and declared dead.
“The lionesses were darted and moved to another playhouse in the area.”
Lovingly known as “Uncle West”, he took visitors to his lodge on daily walks with the lionesses and his website shows children playing with the predators on the grounds.
A statement from a spokesman for the Blood Lions Campaign, which opposes lion breeding, puppy pet and canning sectors, said: “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends of West Mathewson.
(Image: Facebook)
“Unfortunately, this tragic accident is not an isolated case in the lion breeding industry in South Africa.
“Records show that in the last 10 years at least 40 similar incidents have occurred with a quarter leading to deaths.
“This only reflects the incidents that have been reported in the media and therefore there may be more unreported cases.
“Lions and other big cats, living or not, are not pets, but are predators that do not lose their wild instinct.”
In 2017, the lionesses abused a local man, Justice Cebelchulu, 46, to climb a tree and jump over an electric fence around their compound.
Justice was working on a nearby property and chopped wood when he was attacked. The lions were frightened by colleagues peeling them with stones.
Justice lost his fight for life in hospital days after the attack, although health officials said the diabetic died from “other illnesses”.
The death could not be attributed to the lion attack, the provincial health department said at the time.
West faced pressure to euthanize his pets, and he told the media that the lions did not intend to kill Justice and “play alone”.
He accused justice, saying that the man made the mistake of running away from her and that the lions then attacked him.
He said he raised the lions to save them both from can hunting where they are placed in enclosures so hunters can kill them and to raise awareness about their plight.
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