A man was filmed being dragged away and mauled by a lion after entering its enclosure in front of horrified witnesses. The shocking video shows Mike Hodge, the British owner of the Makarele Predator Centre in Thabazimbi, South Africa, being attacked by a huge male lion.
The 67-year-old was rushed to hospital with injuries to his neck and jaw after being filmed lying motionless in the moments after the incident on Saturday. Mike, who relocated to South Africa from the UK with his wife Chrissy in 2003, remains in hospital but is said to be recovering. Photographs, believed to have been taken from his hospital bed, show him smiling at the camera.
A friend told The Sun: ‘Mike and one of his rangers were a little concerned about a smell in a compound that was upsetting one of the lions and had gone in through the gate to see what was causing it. ‘It had put the lion on edge but when Mike went in the lion turned and came for him and he ran but couldn’t get through the gate quick enough and it had him. ‘There is no information coming out of the hospital but all I know is that he is alive and his wife and daughter are with him. ‘I do not know how badly hurt he is but he is a lovely guy and I wish him all the best. ‘He is no fool around lions and knows how to interact with them but clearly something went wrong.’
