OAKLEY, Kan. (AP) -- Authorities are investigating a weekend incident
in which a man was mauled by a lion at an animal refuge in western
Kansas, but no charges are expected to be filed.

The lion's owner, Jeffrey Harsh, told authorities that man staying at
the Free Breakfast Inn motel next to the refuge near Oakley apparently
made his way Saturday into an outer perimeter lion cage.

When Harsh showed up to feed the animals that evening, he found the
man with his arm over the top of a gate on the inner cage. A Barbary
lion had grabbed the man's right arm, said Thomas County Sheriff Rod
Taylor.

Harsh reportedly beat the lion with a steel pipe so it would release
the man. He then drove him to a Colby hospital. The victim, Bradley
Buchanan, has since been transferred to a Denver hospital for more
surgery. Buchanan, of Oakley, is expected to recover.

Taylor said photos of Buchanan's deep wounds appear to show that the
lion reached the bone.

Harsh previously has faced legal problems for his ownership of exotic
animals.

On Tuesday, the Thomas County prosecutor agreed to dismiss a
misdemeanor case against Harsh, provided he transfers three Barbary
lions to the Detroit Zoo.

Zoo officials were expected to travel to Oakley within three months to
examine the lions for any diseases. If the tests are negative, the
lions would then be taken to Detroit.

Taylor said no charges are expected to be filed in Saturday's
incident, providing Harsh follows through on his promise to move the
lions.

But Harsh still has two tigers at the facility.

"I hope we find a home for the other two," Taylor said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29397583/

http://www.woai.com/mostpopular/story/Lion-Mauls-Man-in-Western-Kansas/snbsG-uIxkeo1J6EgTVaLQ.cspx

THOMAS COUNTY, Kansas – Authorities in Thomas County are investigating an apparent lion attack.

An Oakley man, identified as Bradley Buchanan, was staying at a motel off Interstate 70 in Thomas County when he allegedly approached a lion cage outside the property and had his arm bitten by the animal.

He's now being treated at a Denver hospital.

The county has long been fighting the lion's owner for having exotic pets and continues to investigate the attack.

http://www.ksn.com/news/kansasnews/40299337.html

--
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an Educational Sanctuary home
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813.493.4564 fax 885.4457

http://www.BigCatRescue.org
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