Lion escapes enclosure and kills worker before it’s shot dead

A lion was shot dead today after it escaped from its enclosure at a US nature reserve and killed a worker.

The incident happened when an animal keeper was cleaning the lion’s enclosure at the Conservators Center in Burlington, North Carolina.

The lion managed to leave a locked area and “quickly” killed a worker.

The animal was shot dead, which allowed officials from Caswell County to retrieve the worker’s body.

An investigation is ongoing as to how the lion escaped.

Officials are withholding the name of the victim until their family has been notified.

The center, a non-profit organization which was founded in 1999, houses more than 80 animals and more than 21 species, including lions and tigers, many of which were taken from “unacceptable living conditions.”

There are currently 15 lions at the center, many of whom arrived as part of a United States Department of Agriculture placement after the Ohio State Fish and Wildlife Service seized animals from poor living conditions in 2004.

Around 16,000 people visit the center every year.

The center said it was “devastated by the loss of a human life” and will be closed until further notice.

In May, British wildlife park owner Mike Hodge was badly injured after being mauled by one of his lions at the Marakele Animal Sanctuary in Thabazimbi, South Africa.

The lion, named Shamba, was shot dead by a ranger to save the Brit.

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