Safari park owner attacked by lion entering South Africa enclosure in front of tourists

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The British owner of a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa has been severely mauled by a lion he hand-reared from a cub in an attack witnessed and filmed by his tourist clients.

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Video footage of Saturday’s incident shows Mr Hodge, who moved to South Africa in 1999, walking in a relaxed manner towards the lion whilst a ranger outside the fence attempts to distract the animal.

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Mr Hodge, who founded the sanctuary in South Africa’s Limpopo region with his wife Chrissy and her daughter Emma in 2010, was reportedly investigating a strange smell that had been upsetting the lion.

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Suddenly, Mr Hodge is seen running for the gate of Shamba’s enclosure before being brought down just short, his body crashing against the fence.

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A woman can be heard sobbing and screaming “Oh my god!” and “somebody help, please!” as the lion drags Mr Hodge away into a thicket.

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Mr Hodge is heard to cry out: “help me please”. Shots ring out, fired by the ranger, prompting Shamba to drop the injured Mr Hodge.

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He was later airlifted to a hospital in Johannesburg. Mrs Hodge said her husband had been hurt was now recovering. “He has a broken jaw and several lacerations, but is recovering well,”

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She added that the family were “devastated” over Shamba’s death. The lion, born in 2008, had been hand-reared since it was a month old, with Mrs Hodge nursing it through a near-fatal dose of colic

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