SeeCalifornia.com

Incredibly sad news that a young volunteer, Dianna Hanson, was killed by a lion on March 6, 2013 at Cat Haven, an exotic animal sanctuary near Kings Canyon National Park, leaves many questions and hopefully will provide future answers about protocols for caring for wild cats. When SeeCalifornia.com wrote a feature about Cat Haven just over five months ago, we had never heard of the facility until then, but were impressed by founder Dale Anderson, a pilot with a passion to help protect and preserve endangered cat species. The last thing he would ever want is for harm to come to volunteers who help feed, care for and give tours to see majestic beasts living on the Dunlap, Calif. ranch he operates. The animals sometimes stay at Cat Haven after leaving a zoo, or they may go to zoos. Anderson makes it clear that he is not a rescue shelter for unwanted animals.

It seemed like the perfect place for an internship for college grad and big cat lover, Dianna Hanson (24). Her Seattle area attorney dad, Paul Hanson, said he was glad to see her so excited and happy about her six month stint which began at the start of 2013, but he also said he had a premonition that something might happen to his daughter. He said that Dianna was doing what she loved and Cous Cous, the 350-pound African lion who attacked and killed her, was her favorite. Cous Cous was shot and killed by a deputy so rescuers could access Hanson to try to save her life.