#Wildlife conservationist mauled to death by 400-pound lions

A South African wildlife conservationist was mauled to death by two lions at his own safari lodge.

West Mathewson, 68, was roughhousing with the 400-pound white lions, Demi and Tanner, when they turned on him Wednesday in their enclosure at Lion Tree Top Lodge near Hoedspruit, the Telegraph reported.

His wife tried to save her husband from the beasts, but he had already suffered fatal injuries.

Mathewson’s daughter-in-law, Tehri Fergusson, said they still don’t know all the details surrounding the deadly attack, but she suggested “rough play” was to blame.

“We have to realize, West was not as young as he thought he was,” she told the newspaper. “We are still not sure what actually happened but there was very rough play.”

The same big cats were responsible for clawing a farmworker to death after escaping in 2017, the outlet reported.

Mathewson had previously defended the lions, but his family said they’ll now be released into the wild.

The cats were tranquilized immediately following the attack and brought to a local endangered species center, the report said.

“They are in a safe place now and they will be cared for and loved, and then they will be let loose into the wild, but they will not be returning here,” his daughter-in-law said.