Lions that mauled schoolboy won't be put down

[Louis Cypher]

Pretoria News

March 16 2005 at 07:29AM

By Graeme Hosken and Sapa

The white lions that critically injured a Pretoria high school pupil in a horrific attack are not going to be put down.

Dane Kieser, 16, was stroking the ear of a lioness at a breeding enclosure at the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve on Sunday when he was attacked and pulled under the fence into the lion's den.

Dane, a Grade 10 pupil at Pretoria's Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool, was visiting the nature reserve with his girlfriend and his mother, who is dating the breeding centre's curator.

Dane apparently took his girlfriend with him to the enclosure
The curator, who has been suspended pending the outcome of an internal investigation, apparently told Dane not to go near the enclosure as the lions were about to be fed and were very aggressive.

Dane apparently took his girlfriend with him to the enclosure where he stuck his arm through the fence to stroke the lioness.

The lioness grabbed Dane by his foot and arm and pulled him into the enclosure where she and her mate attacked him.

On Tuesday Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve manager Frank Wessels said the two lions, aged three and four, would not be put down.

He said the boy stroked a lion through the 2,8m high diamond mesh fence.

"The lion got hold of his foot and after a while pulled him under the fence," he said.

"We are talking about a collective 600kg of lion here. You don't have much chance of staying on your side of the fence," said a curator at the park who identified himself only as Ken.

He said the boy survived because he listened to what he was told while in the enclosure.

"He was underneath the lion. I said 'if you move you are dead'. He probably didn't even breathe. I called the lion off and told Dane to get up and back up to the fence."

The lion lunged with its paw again and hit the boy. Dane jumped up immediately as Ken had told him to stay on his feet. Ken threw him a stick.

Dane hit the lion and shouted at it, and it backed off. The curator told him not to run, to move slowly and not turn his back to the lions. He backed up against the fence to the gate where they managed to get him out.

Dane remains in a critical condition in the Wilgerheuwel Hospital's intensive care unit.

Pretoria's National Zoological Gardens director Willie Labuschagne said it was "extremely stupid" to stroke the ear of a lion.

"These are wild animals whether they are in captivity or not."

Labuschagne, who has a masters degree in carnivore behaviour, said lions, especially males, were extremely aggressive during the mating period.

"Animals are instinctively ready to kill when they have to defend themselves and it does not matter how tame they appear to be - they will attack if provoked."