Katherine Chappell, 29, was being driven through a safari park near Johannesburg in South Africa when the tragedy unfolded. The tour guide heroically tried to protect her, but it was ultimately in vain
A Game of Thrones editor was mauled to death by a lion during a safari in a savage attack after it jumped through an open car window.
Katherine Chappell, 29, was being driven through a safari park near Johannesburg in South Africa when her dream holiday turned into a nightmare. She lowered a window to take a picture of a lion lying on the ground. Without warning, it stood up on its rear paws, lunged forward and mauled her through the window. Eyewitness Ben Govender told the New York Post: “We saw the [guide] diving into the passenger seat and punching at the lioness.
“After the first bite, the lioness retreated from the car with blood dripping from her mouth and paw.’’ The animal then staged a second devastating attack, savaging its victim. Ben went on: “Her face was torn apart. The right side of her chest was gone. Nothing could have been done to save that woman.’’ He said the lion “had half her shoulder in its mouth” during the attack. Guide Pierre Potgieter, who heroically fought to save Katherine’s life, suffered a heart attack in what he called the “worst experience” of his life.
The park guarantees “super close-up views” and boasts that guests can “get closer to a pride of lions and other animals and still be completely safe.” Scott Simpson, the assistant operations manager at Lion Park, opened an investigation into the attack along with police.
He said: “When you drive through into the lion enclosure, which is separate from the rest of the park, you get handed a slip of paper at the gates reminding you to keep your windows closed at all times. You also have extensive signage absolutely everywhere warning people to keep them shut.” Kevin Richardson, a South African animal expert known as the “Lion Whisperer”, said that lions can “lose their natural fear of humans” in these kinds of parks.
He told NBC News: “People visiting lion parks should be particularly careful and adhere to the rules such as making sure their windows are not rolled down too far. Wild lions fear people and vehicles. That is why you can view them safely in open top vehicles.”
Katherine’s family released a statement on Facebook that read: “Katie was a brilliant, kind, adventurous and high-spirited woman. Her energy and passion could not be contained by mere continents or oceans. She was very much loved and shared her love for life with those she met.”
During her eulogy, sister Jennifer Ringwald described her as “fearless.” “Katie had an unbridled passion for everything under the sun,” Jennifer said. “Nobody who met her could ever forget her. Her flaw was that she was a 5-foot-4, 90-pound woman, but deep down she believed she was a 6-foot-4, 250-pound man.”.
Katherine was a special effects editor who worked on the Game of Thrones team that won an Emmy for the 2014 episode The Children. Born in New York, she moved to Vancouver in 2013 to work on the show, and also had credits on films such as Captain America and Divergent.