Pictured: Animal sanctuary intern, 24, who was mauled to death by a lion inside its cage as she worked on her 'dream job'

• Dianna Hanson was inside a 350-pound African lion's cage when it attacked on Wednesday
  
• Lion was shot dead after police were unable to lure animal away from its victim
• Dianna's father says it was her dream job caring for big cats
  
• Investigation underway into why she was inside the lion's enclosure

By Nina Golgowski

PUBLISHED: 18:54 EST, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 06:21 EST, 7 March 2013

A 24-year-old intern has been fatally mauled by an African lion after entering its cage at a private animal sanctuary in California on Wednesday.

Dianna Hanson was volunteering at Cat Haven sanctuary in Dunlap when she was tragically attacked after getting into the male lion's cage.

'Dianna really loved her six-month month internship at Cat Haven,' Her father, Paul Hanson, wrote on Facebook. 'She and I drove down there from Seattle on January 1 & 2. She was so excited at working in Cat Haven and living in California. Once there, she gave me the tour and showed me all the big cats there with which she would be working.'

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Killed: Dianna Hanson, a 24-year-old intern whose dream job was working with big cats, was tragically killed after entering a lion's cage at a California wildlife sanctuary on Wednesday

Care giver: Ms Hanson started her six-month internship at the cat sanctuary in January, seen here with one of the tigers

The four-year-old, 350-pound lion named Couscous was shot and killed by a sheriff's deputy after a worker was unable to lure the giant cat away from the young woman as she lay inside the enclosure critically wounded.

Cat Haven founder and executive director Dale Anderson was crying as he read a one-sentence statement about the fatal mauling at the exotic animal zoo he has operated since 1993.

Ms Hanson was attacked and killed when she entered the lion's enclosure, he said.

He refused to take questions from reporters.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family at this critical time,' said Mr Anderson.

Ms Hanson's Facebook page shows previous work listed as an intern with the Snow Leopard Trust in Seattle, Washington while a student at Western Washington University, as well as serving as a research volunteer at the Soysambu Conservancy in Nakura.

Among her recent work listed was serving as a lifeguard and swim instructor. There she described her work as: 'I am here to save lives.' 

Animal sanctuary intern mauled to death by lion

Mauling: Ms Hanson was volunteering at California's Cat Haven sanctuary when she was fatally mauled after entering the cage of this 350-pound African lion

Work experience: Ms Hanson's Facebook page shows previous work listed as an intern with the Snow Leopard Trust in Seattle, Washington as well as serving as a research volunteer at the Soysambu Conservancy in Nakura

Pleasurable work: In a message on Facebook Ms Hanson's father said that his daughter really loved the work she did for the sanctuary, she's seen posing before two cheetahs with a smile

Mr Hanson said his daughter had loved lions and tigers since she was a little girl.

While studying at WWU he says she cared for a few animals owned by a family living near the campus, King5 reports.

Investigators were trying to determine why Ms Hanson was inside the enclosure and what might have provoked the attack, Fresno County sheriff's Sgt. Greg Collins said.

Fresno County Emergency Medical Services say they received a call to the sanctuary around 12.32pm on Wednesday but by 12.52 the call was cancelled because the victim had already died, the Fresno Bee reports.

The Fresno County Sheriff's Office explained their choice to shoot the cat in a news release following the attack, stating: 'Another employee had made several attempts to distract the lion away from the victim and into another enclosure prior to the deputy's arrival, but all attempts failed.'

The lion had been hand raised at the sanctuary since it was eight-months old, said Tanya Osegueda, a spokeswoman for Project Survival, the nonprofit that operates Cat Haven.

Cat Haven is a private 100-acre non-profit animal sanctuary just west of Kings Canyon National Park.

Tragedy: Cat Haven founder and executive director Dale Anderson was crying as he addressed the attack that took both the intern and the lion's lives at his park, pictured

Questions: An investigation is now underway into why the intern entered the cage of the four-year-old lion named Couscous photographed here in 2012

The site is about 45 miles east of Fresno in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Since the property opened in 1993, it has housed numerous big cats, including tigers, leopards and other exotic species.

'This facility has a very good history,' Lt. Tony Spada of state Fish & Wildlife told the Fresno Bee. 'In this case, someone just got too close.'

The sanctuary boasts more intimate relationships with their cats, with videos showing their handlers interacting one-on-one with the animals inside their cages.

'We started the Cat Haven with the idea that giving people a better experience with cats, and hopefully they become interested when they see them and hear them and hopefully they'll want to take an active role in conservation for cats in the wild,' said Cat Haven's founder Dale Anderson speaking to Fox News in February.

The sanctuary is permitted to house exotic animals by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and is regulated as a zoo by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Killed: The four-year-old lion named Couscous, seen here with a female named Pely, was shot dead by emergency personnel responding to the scene

Human raised: The sanctuary says they raised the lion, pictured, by hand when it arrived at their facility at eight-months old

Results of the last 13 inspections by the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service show no violations dating back to March 2010. The most recent inspection was Feb. 4, USDA records show.

Despite state regulations that require annual inspections, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife most recently inspected the facility in January 2011.

'We have to do the best we can with the resources we're provided,' said department spokeswoman Jordan Traverso.

The inspector's written comments were 'facility in good condition.' The inspector checked gates, enclosures, water supplies, drainage, cleanliness, ventilation and the general health of the animals.

Department spokeswoman Janice Mackey said she was unaware if any state regulations would prohibit an employee from entering an exotic animal's enclosure.

She said each species is identified on the permit, and the animals must be used for scientific or educational purposes only.

'We don't allow them to be used as pets,' Mackey said.

Loved: Mr Anderson is seen scratching one of his sanctuary's lions back in February for an interview that he hoped would inspire others to get to know and help the giant cats

Actress Tippi Hedren, who founded the Shambala Preserve in Southern California, home to 53 seized or abandoned exotic pets, expressed dismay over the killing of the lion.

'It wasn't the lion's fault. It's the human's fault always. I've got 40 years behind me. I know what I'm talking about,' Hedren said.

A movie was made at Shambala several years ago and several people were injured. 'Two were nearly killed,' she said.

'Lions are one of the four most dangerous animals in the world. There is nothing you can do. When they get a thought pattern, there is nothing short of a bullet to the brain that will stop them,' Hedren said.

Nicole Paquette, vice president of the Human Society of the United States, voiced similar concerns.

'She should have never been in the enclosure with him,' Paquette said of the victim. 'These are big cats that are extremely dangerous, and they placed a volunteer in the actual cage with a wild animal. That should have never happened.'

Sanctuary: The Cat Haven sanctuary, a non-profit opened in 1993, is on 100-acres of private land, pictured, just west of Kings Canyon National Park

Officials at another big cat sanctuary, Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, Fla., told The Associated Press last year that at least 21 people, including five children, have been killed and 246 mauled by exotic cats since 1990. Over that period, 254 cats escaped and 143 were killed.

Tatiana, a tiger at the San Francisco Zoo, was killed by police after jumping out of its enclosure and fatally mauling a 17-year-old boy and injuring two other people in 2007.

Cat Haven has housed Bengal tigers, Siberian lynx, caracals, jaguars and leopards of various types as well as bobcats native to the area. Anderson described the private zoo several years ago as one of a handful of facilities across the U.S. that has all of the big cat species in one place.

The facility's website says it promotes conservation and preservation of wild cats in their native habitats and offers visitors tours and educational outreach.

Anderson said Project Survival would investigate to see if the intern and the other worker who was on-site followed the group's protocols.

'We take every precaution to ensure the safety of our staff, animals and guests,' he said in a written statement.