First of all, let’s get the question right. West Mathewson was the owner of these two white lions, not their keeper. Small but important difference.
He had raised them since they were cubs. Being social animals they no doubt regarded him as ‘Head of the Pride’ and this is where the problems can sometimes happen; that position is always open to challenge.
This was not the first time these two lions had killed someone. A farm worker was clawed to death in 2017.
Mathewson was obviously very attached to his white lions, but he paid the ultimate price for not having a house cat as a pet. Any wild cat can be wildly unpredictable and any time you enter their enclosure, particularly if there are multiple cats, you are playing Russian roulette. Eventually if you keep spinning the barrel, the bullet ends up in the right place to kill you.
So why did it happen ?
That will never be known for sure. I would suggest a possible reason was a change in dominance between the two lions. The one who moved up the ladder challenged and killed West. According to the story, one lioness attacked the other and then went after West.
You only get to make a mistake with a wild cat once.
There is another rumor going round that these lions will be released into the wild. Should that happen, it will all end in disaster and they will most likely become man eaters and get shot.
This is yet another example of a wild cat owner being killed by his ‘pet’. When will these idiots come to the conclusion that they are called ‘wild’ animals for a good reason ???
Posted by Nick Nicholas
