Lion Kills Intern In North Carolina

CASWELL COUNTY, NC — An intern died, a lion was killed and a North Carolina wildlife center has been temporarily closed after a recent animal attack. The deadly lion attack happened on Sunday, Dec. 30, during the routine cleaning of an enclosure at Conservators Center, near Burlington.

The nonprofit wildlife center — which is home to tigers, leopards, lemurs and more — reports that it is closed to the public as an investigation is underway in the fatal case.

Alexandra Black, 22, who was completing an internship with Conservators Center, was killed.

"She died following her passion," her family said in a statement to CBS News. Officials said Black had completed multiple internships after graduating from Indiana University Bloomington.

She reportedly had a bachelor of science degree in animal behavior.

Funeral service information is pending for Black, who lived in Indiana.

Black's family has asked those who would like to make memorial donations to contribute to another place where she had interned: Wolf Park in Battle Ground, Indiana. The education and research facility houses wolves, coyotes, foxes and bison.

Wolf Park issued a statement saying it plans to build a redesigned wolf enclosure and dedicate it to honor Black, a "strong, compassionate and dedicated woman with a heart-warming smile."

She was described as a "vibrant, smart young woman" by the wildlife refuge center in North Carolina.

"We are heartbroken to announce the death yesterday morning of a remarkable young woman, Alexandra Black, 22, who recently began a husbandry internship at the Conservators Center," the center said in a statement on New Year's Eve. "Alex was working with one of our husbandry teams cleaning a lion enclosure, when a lion who had been locked into a separate holding enclosure somehow managed to enter the enclosure in which our team was working and killed Alex."

Alexandra Black, a 22-year-old recent Indiana University grad and intern at the Conservators Center zoo in Caswell County, North Carolina, was attacked and killed by an escaped lion at the animal preserve, authorities say: https://t.co/tBUPHX5POd #breaking pic.twitter.com/rpemKppSiF
— Tom Cleary (@tomwcleary) December 30, 2018

Black was the only human who was injured.

Matthai, the 14-year-old lion who attacked her, was also killed as a result of the incident.

"The lion was shot and killed to allow Caswell County personnel to retrieve the worker," reported Conservators Center. Attempts to tranquilize the lion were said to have been unsuccessful.

Matthai was born at the Conservators Center after his mother was placed there following a 2004 USDA-assisted confiscation.

How Matthai was able to get out of his enclosure remains a mystery.

"When our husbandry teams clean big cat enclosures, they follow a safety protocol that involves moving the cats into a separate space and securing them before humans enter the adjacent space," the center reported. "The specifics of what happened are still under investigation."

Conservators Center, which is about 30 miles northwest of Chapel Hill, is now home to 14 lions instead of 15.

"...we are all traumatized by this incident," Conservators Center said in a statement on Monday, Dec. 31. "Just as Alex’s family needs privacy in this time of mourning, our staff and volunteers also need time to grieve while we return to our work caring for the rest of our residents."

RELATED: Lion Escapes North Carolina Enclosure, Kills Worker

Still picture of Matthai the lion in February 2018 via Conservators Center/YouTube.