SOURCE: The Associated Press

Friday, February 13, 2004

Man killed by pet African lion

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ill. (AP) -- A Hardin County man who kept exotic animals was apparently attacked and killed Thursday by a pet African lion, authorities said.

Al Abell was apparently changing the bedding of the lion's pen when he was attacked, Sheriff Carl Cox told The Paducah Sun.

According to Cox, Abell's wife returned to the couple's home near Elizabethtown in southeastern Illinois shortly before 6 p.m., saw the lion out of its pen and called the sheriff's office. Deputies killed the lion and then discovered Abell lying nearby, according to the newspaper.

Abell was taken to Hardin County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:37 p.m., Coroner Roger Little said. An autopsy was scheduled for Friday, he said.

Cox said he visited the property about three years ago with state officials to make sure the Abells had the proper permits for the tigers, wolves and other exotic animals the couple kept on the property. He said he believed the lion that attacked Abell was a cub at the time of that visit.

Jeffrey Bonner, the president of the St. Louis Zoo, said Abell's death illustrates just how dangerous wild animals can be.

"Even after centuries of breeding, you still can't eradicate behavior that's natural for them," he said. "Lions hunt for their meat and kill it; it's what they do. To think that an owner of any big cat, even after several years, can really domesticate them is, of course, naive."