Overview

• Authorities identified the victim as 58-year-old Jian Rangkharasamee, who was attacked after stepping out of his car inside the drive-through lion enclosure around 11 a.m.
• Witnesses reported one lion initiating the attack before several others joined, with the mauling lasting about 15 minutes as visitors honked horns to try to intervene.
• The Department of National Parks ordered the drive-through lion zone closed pending safety checks as police and wildlife officials conduct investigations.
• Spectrum of responses followed, with Safari World asserting its lions are properly licensed and animal-welfare groups urging relocation of the pride to a sanctuary.
• Rangkharasamee was transported to Intrarat Hospital and pronounced dead, and colleagues say he was an experienced supervisor who regularly fed the lions.