Johannesburg (CNN)Witnesses to a lion attack honked their horns, trying to get the attention of those in danger as the animal approached.
That's according to a source close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity Tuesday -- one day after a 29-year-old woman from the United States was killed on a safari outside Johannesburg.
A family member identified the victim as Katherine Chappell of Rye, New York. Jennifer Chappell declined to speak further Tuesday night.
The victim was taking pictures and likely didn't see the lion approach from the side, the source said. She was a passenger in a vehicle with a tour operator when the lion attacked.
The operator was hurt trying to fight off the animal, but he is expected to survive, according to Scott Simpson, assistant operations manager at Lion Park.
Lion Park said witnesses confirmed that the passenger's and driver's windows were open.
The lion stopped about a meter from the vehicle as the woman continued taking pictures, a Lion Park statement said. The lion then lunged at the car, biting the woman through the open window.
Camp staff chased the lion away, the statement said.
An ambulance arrived in minutes as the staff rendered first aid. Chappell died at the scene.
Simpson said the lion would be taken to a second property while the park investigates. It will not be euthanized.
The park has had incidents before, all stemming from open windows, he said.
"That's absolutely forbidden at our park," Simpson said. "There are numerous signs, and we hand out slips of paper to all guests warning them to keep their windows closed."
The notice warning guests to keep their windows closed was found on the passenger side seat of the vehicle of the woman who was killed, the source close to the investigation said.
Lion Park, a wildlife center in South Africa's Gauteng province, boasts a variety of animals, including lions, zebras, giraffes and wild dogs.
"It is incredibly sad that a life had to be lost in this manner," the Lion Park statement said. "Visitors to South Africa need to remember that predators are dangerous and rules are there for their own safety. If all the rules are adhered to (during) your visit to the Lion Park, national parks and other similar facilities will be a safe and treasured experience."
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New York woman killed by lion in South Africa 'lived a life of adventure'
Katherine Chappell, who did special effects work for Game of Thrones, was volunteering at preserves and planned to make film on animal poaching
An American woman who was mauled to death by a lioness in a South Africa game preserve was “brilliant, kind, adventurous and high-spirited”, her family says.
Katherine Chappell’s “energy and passion could not be contained by mere continents or oceans”, the family said in a Facebook posting.
Chappell, 29, grew up in the New York suburbs and a memorial service is scheduled for Saturday in Rye, New York, said Gene Guarino, director of the Graham Funeral Home. He confirmed that Chappell was the victim in Monday’s attack in the Lion Park north of Johannesburg.
Chappell’s mother, Mary Chappell of Rye, told the Journal News that her daughter went to South Africa to work for two weeks as a volunteer at a different preserve, one dedicated to saving rhinoceroses and elephants. Katherine Chappell had hoped to make a movie about animal poaching, her mother said.
“She lived a life of adventure – she loved traveling, she was full of life,” the mother said.
Katherine Chappell had visited Japan, Australia and Europe as well as Africa, Mary Chappell said.
She said Chappell had spent the past year in Vancouver, Canada, working for a special effects company on projects including HBO’s Game of Thrones and the upcoming movie Pan. The company would not comment.
The park where the mauling occurred allows lions to roam while tourists drive through the preserve. A park official said that although visitors are ordered to keep their windows closed, the woman was taking pictures through an open window when the lioness lunged. The vehicle’s driver, believed to be a local tour operator, was also injured and was hospitalized.
South African media have reported that an Australian tourist was bitten by a lion earlier this year while driving through the park with his windows open and a teenager who tried to cut through the park on a bicycle was attacked by a cheetah.
The park official said the lioness would not be killed, but was kept away from tourists after the attack.
Chappell is survived by her parents, two sisters, a brother and a brother-in-law.
Katherine Chappell’s “energy and passion could not be contained by mere continents or oceans”, the family said in a Facebook posting.
Chappell, 29, grew up in the New York suburbs and a memorial service is scheduled for Saturday in Rye, New York, said Gene Guarino, director of the Graham Funeral Home. He confirmed that Chappell was the victim in Monday’s attack in the Lion Park north of Johannesburg.
Chappell’s mother, Mary Chappell of Rye, told the Journal News that her daughter went to South Africa to work for two weeks as a volunteer at a different preserve, one dedicated to saving rhinoceroses and elephants. Katherine Chappell had hoped to make a movie about animal poaching, her mother said.
“She lived a life of adventure – she loved traveling, she was full of life,” the mother said.
Katherine Chappell had visited Japan, Australia and Europe as well as Africa, Mary Chappell said.
She said Chappell had spent the past year in Vancouver, Canada, working for a special effects company on projects including HBO’s Game of Thrones and the upcoming movie Pan. The company would not comment.
The park where the mauling occurred allows lions to roam while tourists drive through the preserve. A park official said that although visitors are ordered to keep their windows closed, the woman was taking pictures through an open window when the lioness lunged. The vehicle’s driver, believed to be a local tour operator, was also injured and was hospitalized.
South African media have reported that an Australian tourist was bitten by a lion earlier this year while driving through the park with his windows open and a teenager who tried to cut through the park on a bicycle was attacked by a cheetah.
The park official said the lioness would not be killed, but was kept away from tourists after the attack.
Chappell is survived by her parents, two sisters, a brother and a brother-in-law.
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