BURLINGTON, N.C. — WFMY News 2 is getting a first look inside the Conservators Center after a deadly lion attack at the end of December.
This comes after a State Medical Examiner's investigation report indicated the intern killed by a lion at the Conservators Center late last year was killed after an enclosure gate wasn't closed properly.
22-year-old intern Alex Black was cleaning an enclosure when she was attacked by a lion. Another staff member and intern were also in the same enclosure.
Executive Director Mindy Stinner says she can't talk about everything from that day, but wants to be as transparent as she can be.
"I can tell you that if our policies and procedures are followed, our animals are secure, and our people are safe, we believe that the gate that was containing the lion was not properly secured and locked. There’s no evidence of destroyed fence or a broken gate.
The medical investigation says the medical examiner was told the lion dragged Black around the enclosure and that the medical examiner's initial inspection showed she died from multiple lacerations and significant blood loss. The listed cause of death is "Mauling by Animal" and the death was ruled an "Accident."
The incident happened on December 30, 2018. The medical examiner's investigation does not give a timeline of events, but does list out the "traumatic injuries." Some of the injuries reported include a lacerated jugular vein; numerous lacerations to her shoulders, torso, abdomen and thigh that "matched claw wounds"; fractured spinal cord; deep puncture wounds to the skull "indicative of bite wounds"; and defensive wounds.
Stinner says the report can be misleading.
"I can tell you that I was there within a minute of the radio call and that I saw what happened and I know that Alex Black was not being dragged around the enclosure. She was gone within the minute," Stinner says. "This was over quickly and from the beginning when first responders arrived this was a retrieval exercise, not a rescue."
Stinner says they also dispute the report's account that a ball played a role in the attack. In the report, the medical examiner says he talks to a Lt. Riddick, who advised him it was a play ball that was blocking the gate from closing properly.
"I can tell you that in our follow-up review of everything that was going on we looked at every bit of information we could get our hands on and I have no reason to believe that a ball played any part in this," Stinner says.
"It’s my belief that the information that was gathered was in the heat of the moment and offered the best information that was available in that instant."
Since the incident, the Center has reviewed their policies and retrained staff. They found that the ones they have in place when followed, are sufficient to keep the Center's visitors, staff, and animals safe.
"It’s just really, really important to me that we keep a lot of the focus on Alex," Stinner explains. "I didn’t get to know Alex very well while she was here, but I feel like I’m getting to know her better and better by talking to her family and they are truly extraordinary people. It’s a family I wish I had met under different circumstances. And it ‘s very important to me and to them that Alex remain part of our legacy moving forward."
Alex hadn't even been at the Conservators Center for two weeks when the attack happened. Earlier in December she finished up an internship at Wolf Park in Indiana, her home state. Her family is asking anyone who would like to honor her memory to make a donation in her name to Wolf Park. The park is also dedicating a redesigned wolf enclosure to honor her.
"She was a happy, brilliant young woman who wanted to dedicate her life to these animals. She was an artist, she was an activist for social justice and she loved these animals and she loved the wolves at Wolf Park and the people there. So I’m so pleased that we are able to carry her forward with us
According to our past reports, a staff member called 911 after the attack started and emergency personnel and Caswell County deputies were dispatched to the scene.
In a Caswell County Sheriff's Office investigation report, several staff members were trying to separate the lion from Black's body in the enclosure when they arrived. A Conservators Center staff member hit the lion with three tranquilizer darts, but the lion did not go to sleep. Deputies had to shoot the lion 8 times, ultimately killing it, in order to "neutralize the situation." That lion was identified as Matthai.
The Sheriff's Office and County Animal Control have completed their investigations into the matter.
A USDA inspection report completed on January 31st says there were "no non-compliant issues" found during the inspection after the attack. The USDA regulates the facility.
There is also a North Carolina Department of Labor OSH investigation because it was a workplace fatality. That investigation is ongoing.
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