Big cat mauls Keepers of the Wild owner

An unspecified “large cat” seriously injured the owner of the Keepers of the Wild exotic-animal sanctuary along Route 66 north of Kingman, Arizona.

The Lake Havasu News-Herald reports the founder of the sanctuary, Jonathan Kraft, was flown to a Las Vegas hospital for emergency treatment after he was attacked by one of those animals.

According to Mohave County Sheriff Doug Schuster, authorities are unsure whether the animal was a tiger or a lion.

Officials say the owner entered a cage at the location to move the animal into another area of the enclosure, and was severely mauled. […]

The animal sanctuary has been home to animals deemed either unfit for the wild, or have spent too long in captivity — including predators such as lions, leopards and cougars; as well as emus, ostriches, cows, bison, burros and llamas.

The incident is being investigated by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and is believed by deputies to be a workplace accident.

The Keepers of the Wild page on Facebook posted this message Tuesday:

Kraft planned a bigger animal sanctuary in nearby Golden Shores had no plans to abandon its facility off old Route 66 in the small settlement of Valentine.

(Image of a sign board at Keepers of the Wild by carlfbagge via Flickr)

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