Lion attack victim identified as Game of Thrones special effects editor
LANSERIA - The victim of a fatal lion attack at The Lion Park on 1 June has been identified as Katherine Chappell, a 29-year-old American special effects editor, who had been visiting South Africa on holiday.
According to The Daily Mail  Chappell had worked as a special effects editor on the Emmy award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones.
She had also previously worked on Hollywood blockbusters like Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Noah and Divergent.
Chappell was reportedly originally from New York however she had been living in Vancouver, Canada since 2013.
She had traveled to South Africa a week before her death via London.
One of her Instagram posts reads, “So long Canada! Next stop London!” followed by “…9 hour layover in London before jetsetting onwards to South Africa”
The Daily Mail report went on to reveal that the lioness which attacked Chappell had been mating and had several cubs with her at the time of the incident, which could have been the reason for her aggression.
According to the The Lion Park’s statement, Chappell and the tour operator had their windows wide open during their drive through the park.
However the tour operator who worked for a company called Kalabash Tours has a different account of the events leading up to the incident.
Read an exclusive witness account of the attack
He said that all the vehicle’s windows had been up however Chappell had opened her window at the last minute to take a photo of the lioness, which is when the attack happened.
The tour operator also told The Daily Mail that he had suffered a heart attack while trying to rescue Chappell from the lioness.
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