Was Cous Cous the Lion killed…For being a Lion

A 550-pound African lion named 'Cous Cous' pried open the gate to a large cage near Fresno, Calif., this week, pouncing up to and swatting an intern zoo worker, Dianna Hanson, so hard she died.

On Friday, the reaction from the woman's family was not entirely unexpected. Instead of blaming the four-year-old animal, they called the incident a "tragic accident" that began with the animal's wits and ended with what was likely an example of "rough play" that instantly broke Ms. Hanson's neck. Law enforcement officers shot the lion as it paced near Ms. Hanson's body.

"It sounds like it was an accident. Maybe the latch had not been completely closed. ... You know, house cats are smart, they can open doors," Paul Hanson, the victim's father, told the Associated Press. "It wasn't a vicious attack."

According to a coroner's report, Hanson sustained other injuries after death, but the victim's family insisted that the lack of lacerations and bite marks on the neck – the lion's standard kill spot – suggests that it was not a willful attack by the animal.

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