Horror viral video shows Brit being attacked by lion at ‘predator park’

This video is sending the internet crazy, trending on pretty much every news outlet, so if you haven’t seen it already, you can rest assured it’s very likely to pop up on one of your social media accounts today.

But it’s not for the faint of heart, because it shows a 67-year-old British wildlife park owner being mauled by a lion at his own park in South Africa. Onlookers can be heard screaming for someone to get a gun as the big cat chases a man identified by the media as Mike Hodge inside an enclosure at the Marakele Predator Park, before knocking him down and dragging him into some bushes with frightening speed.

Then there is a loud bang, and the lion appears to drop Hodge and run away. Some reports on the incident said that the lion was subsequently shot dead.

The Sun spoke to a friend of the park owner, who said Hodge was being treated at hospital and that it was not clear how badly hurt he was. “He is no fool around lions and knows how to interact with them but clearly something went wrong” the friend, who declined to be named, told the newspaper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yT-Bzhxj1Qw&has_verified=1

Marakele’s site, which identifies the park as an animal sanctuary as well as a ‘predator park’, says that Mike and his wife Chrissy emigrated to South Africa in 1999 and set up the park in 2003. Although it’s not clear what sanctuary work the park does, it does have a volunteer program for people who want to work with the animals. 

The park also offers a ‘lion mobile’ experience in which visitors are placed in a large steel cage on the back of a small truck, then driven through the big cat enclosure.

“I can promise you that SHAMBA will jump up and look you in the eyes, he also sits on the top of the truck whilst we take the drive through the camp, a super photo opportunity to be had by all!” the park promises, alongside photographs of a male lion apparently peering through the top of the wire care.

Posters on the park’s Facebook page appear to indicate that it was Samba the lion that was involved in the attack, with some accusing the park of irresponsibly breeding and selling big cats. 

Do you agree with the existence of such private ‘sanctuaries’? Have you visited one while on holiday?