Lion Country Safari Mauling: An Untold Story

[KIghostguy]

Hello everyone. Here is my latest writing, this one about an often-forgotten tragedy on Lion Country Safari. Has a complete account of the incident and investigation with exclusive information with several rare photos. Hope you all find this interesting.

https://kingsislandghost.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-untold-story-of-kings-islands-fatal.html

[CoastersRZ]

An important thing to note, as you mentioned at the end of the article, is that when it originally opened, it was not operated by Kings Island.

Sister park Kings Dominion also had a Lion Country Safari.  To this day, Six Flags Great Adventure still has a drive thru animal safari located next to the amusement park.

[KIghostguy]

13 minutes ago, CoastersRZ said:

An important thing to note, as you mentioned at the end of the article, is that when it originally opened, it was not operated by Kings Island.

Sister park Kings Dominion also had a Lion Country Safari.  To this day, Six Flags Great Adventure still has a drive thru animal safari located next to the amusement park.

Thanks for reading the post. I mention the Kings Dominion Safari at the beginning of the post.

[CoastersRZ]

I must have read right over that part!

[standbyme]

Very sad, but interesting. Thanks!

 

[Magenta Lizard]

I can't believe he wasn't fired before the mauling. I can only hope it was that the incidents other than his leaving the vehicle were either not reported to his supervisors or were downplayed by those who witnessed them. Seriously, straddling a lion? Pulling their tails as a regular thing? What was wrong with him?!

[TheRickster]

Would there be a way to super impose the map from the report showing the incident location with a satellite photo of the current park?

[Joshua]

17 hours ago, Magenta Lizard said:

I can't believe he wasn't fired before the mauling. I can only hope it was that the incidents other than his leaving the vehicle were either not reported to his supervisors or were downplayed by those who witnessed them. Seriously, straddling a lion? Pulling their tails as a regular thing? What was wrong with him?!

Agreed. He did seem to be a rather careless fellow whose actions reflect that of someone who neither respected his own life nor the danger the lions posed. If this was truly known to be common behavior from him, he should have been reported and he should have been fired. Heck, he shouldn't have worked there at all.  

[KIghostguy]

8 hours ago, TheRickster said:

Would there be a way to super impose the map from the report showing the incident location with a satellite photo of the current park?

There certainly is a way; the problem is that I don’t know where the lion enclosure was located in present-day Kings Island.

[shark6495]

Would love to see the source materials and citations for this


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[KIghostguy]

On 1/7/2018 at 11:48 AM, shark6495 said:

Would love to see the source materials and citations for this


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Of course.

Associated Press. "Kings Island Ranger Killed By Lion; Found in Park Safari Section" (July 25, 1976) Wire Report

_____________. "Lions Fatally Attack Ranger" (July 26, 1976) Wire Report

_____________. "Massive Neck Bite Killed Lion Park Ranger" (July 27, 1976) Wire Report

_____________. "Mauled Ranger Left His Vehicle" (July 31, 1976) Wire Report

_____________. "Ranger Killed By Lion Had Been Injured Previously" (July 28, 1976) Wire Report

Brinkmoeller, Tom. "Update" (January 5, 1978) The Cincinnati Enquirer

Enquirer Hamilton Bureau. "Ranger's Body Discovered in Lion Preserve" (July 25, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer

Enquirer Lebanon Bureau. "Illness Might Have Caused Ranger to Leave His Jeep" (July 27, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer

_____________________. "Probe Launched in Ranger's Death" (July 28, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer

Fusco, Pete. "Kings Island Ranger Killed by Lion Attack" (July 25, 1976) Dayton Daily News

__________. "Lion Victim's Mother Wants Patrol Probe" (July 27, 1976) Dayton Daily News

__________. "Lion's Bite Fatal Quickly, Coroner Says" (July 26, 1976) Dayton Daily News

__________ and Stewart, Don. "Sheriff's Probe Asks If or Why Ranger Left Jeep" (July 29, 1976) Dayton Daily News

Graham, Mike. "'How' in Ranger Death Determined, But 'Why' Unknown" (July 26, 1976) Journal-News (Hamilton, OH)

___________. "Kings Island: Investigation Ahead" (July 28, 1976) Journal-News (Hamilton, OH)

Hunter, Ginny. "Blood May Be Clue to Ranger's Death" (July 28, 1976) The Cincinnati Post

___________. "Lion Victim Had Been Hurt Before" (July 27, 1976) The Cincinnati Post

___________. "Still a Mystery: Why Did Safari Ranger Leave Jeep?" (July 26, 1976) The Cincinnati Post

No Byline. "Coroner Has Theory on Ranger Death" (July 27, 1976) The Journal Herald (Dayton, OH)

________. "Death at Kings Island May Remain a Mystery" (July 26, 1976) The Journal Herald (Dayton, OH)

________. "Lion Bite Fatal to Ranger, Coroner Rules" (July 28, 1976) The Western Star (Lebanon, OH)

________. "Lion Mauling Ruling Today?" (July 26, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer

________. "Lion May Have Killed Kings Island Ranger" (July 25, 1976) Journal-News (Hamilton, OH)

________. "Mauled Ranger Disobeyed Rules, Sheriff Reports" (July 31, 1976) The Cincinnati Post

________. "Mauling Death Probe Hangs on Blood Tests" (July 29, 1976) The Cincinnati Post

_______. “Ranger’s Death Investigated” (August 3, 1976) The Warren County Reporter

________. "Sheriff Ends Ranger Probe" (August 4, 1976) The Western Star (Lebanon, OH)

________. "Tests Completed in Ranger's Death" (August 5, 1976) The Cincinnati Post

Roher, Jim. "Mauling Victim Left Vehicle, Investigators Believe" (August 1, 1976) The Cincinnati Enquirer

In addition to the above newspaper articles, I also have the full case file from the Warren County Sheriff's Office. That includes: the investigation report by Col. Lynn Ertel, witness statements from Dick Fussner, Candace Walker, Dennie Acus, Pat Callahan and Terry Gressner, first-aid report from the July 4 clawing, autopsy and lab report on John McCann, memo sent to the sheriff from deputy Harold Metcalf, June and July safety memos, job description sheet for Lion Country Safari, maintenance report on jeep #5, notes from Col. Ertel, the July 30 press release, and all photographs taken by Col. Ertel, Clark Nolte, Coroner Ralph Young, Dick Fussner and the Hamilton County Coroner's Office.

Whew! 

 

 

[shark6495]

Thanks I love original sources. It’s the skeptic in me:). Plus reading in the news papers at the time.


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[AZ Kinda Guy]

I’m having trouble placing the site of the mauling. Perhaps an overhead shot from Google Earth?

[KIghostguy]

22 minutes ago, AZ Kinda Guy said:

I’m having trouble placing the site of the mauling. Perhaps an overhead shot from Google Earth?

This is from Google Earth. The map from the Sheriff's Office puts Blazer Berm behind the lake in the center-right of this picture. So, the location today is a restricted area behind Banshee.

[timfsu2k]

Kind of off topic, but I wonder how often Google updates Google Earth?  Son of Beast was torn down in 2012 and it's still on the map.  

 

On topic, thank you for the write up.  Seems like he was just a young guy who maybe didn't appreciate how dangerous those big cats can be and paid for it with his life.  Such a tragedy.

[jcgoble3]

57 minutes ago, timfsu2k said:

Kind of off topic, but I wonder how often Google updates Google Earth?  Son of Beast was torn down in 2012 and it's still on the map.

Way more often that it appears to the unaware user. Warning: rant ahead.

I hate, hate, HATE that Google Maps satellite view always defaults to showing 3D constructions, with no way to change that default permanently on the web. What this does is show the latest imagery that has 3D graphics available for everything, with all newer imagery ignored because they haven't been fully 3D-ified. If you turn 3D off (which SHOULD be the default, but Google in their infinite wisdom gives us no way to change that default on the web) by opening the menu in the upper left and clicking "3D on", you will actually get up-to-date imagery that you SHOULD be given in the first place that shows a completed Mystic Timbers and also shows the Island Smokehouse under construction, indicating that it is from spring 2017.

</rant>

[shark6495]

8 hours ago, AZ Kinda Guy said:

I’m having trouble placing the site of the mauling. Perhaps an overhead shot from Google Earth?

 

8 hours ago, KIghostguy said:

This is from Google Earth. The map from the Sheriff's Office puts Blazer Berm behind the lake in the center-right of this picture. So, the location today is a restricted area behind Banshee.

 

I did my best to do it quickly in photo shop.... evidently the hand drawn map is not to any sense of scale....

[TheRickster]

Yeah I've been all over back there and wasn't sure which pond/lake it was referring to. Very cool to see it laid out like that! I was even thinking maybe it was the pond by the campground, but it seems to fit that photoshop just fine.

 

The road going from the old SOB station out past FOF totally feels like you're driving through the Savannah.

[BoddaH1994]

Another amazing blog! I always feel like I know so much about KI and then people like you and @Shaggy show me that there are always so many details to the stories that we don’t even think about. Great work!

Obviously nearly all of the Wild Animal Habitat is gone now. Much of it was lost to progress, with a few remnants still remaining in the woods. Kings Dominion’s closed at a similar time to Kings Island’s attraction but their boneyard is far more interesting. There is still a huge network of confusing backroads through the woods at KD that are surrounded by several layers of security fences and multi-tiered gates. It is VERY evident that it used to be a zoo of some sort. From almost anywhere in the park you can’t tell that anything is back in the woods, but it’s almost like a whole city.

Can anyone confirm that KI’s Wild Animal Safari was opened year-round, as mentioned in the blog? I had heard that before, but never from a first hand source. I know that in the later years KI partnered with the Cincinnati Zoo, so a lot of the animals went there in the winter. When did it stop being year-round? Would you enter the park through the main gates to do this in the winter, or was there a separate gate somewhere?

[TheRickster]

KIs safari area was still like that at least as of 08. It's just so overgrown you can't see it on the satellite photos now. There are still a couple buildings out there and the TALL fencing is there in parts.

[KIghostguy]

5 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Another amazing blog! I always feel like I know so much about KI and then people like you and @Shaggy show me that there are always so many details to the stories that we don’t even think about. Great work

...

Can anyone confirm that KI’s Wild Animal Safari was opened year-round, as mentioned in the blog? I had heard that before, but never from a first hand source. I know that in the later years KI partnered with the Cincinnati Zoo, so a lot of the animals went there in the winter. When did it stop being year-round? Would you enter the park through the main gates to do this in the winter, or was there a separate gate somewhere?

First of all, thank you for your kind words. I’m really glad everyone is enjoying these blog posts!

In regards to your question...yes, it was open year-round. I can’t remember exact dates of the articles off the top of my head, but it was mentioned several times in the Cincinnati Enquirer in 1974. The International Restaurant was also open year-round.

[Shaggy]

AFAIK The Lion Country Safari was never opened year-round at KI.  It was intended to, but never did.  The park issued a press release the first week of October 1974 indicating the attraction would be open weekends only through November (originally intended for daily operations) and then closed for the winter months.  (Mostly because the area was bracing for a hard winter - predicted by the farmers almanac.)

[KImom]

I'm showing my age here...but this is kind of funny. So I remembered going on this safari as a little girl, probably when I was about 5...and apparently didn't go back to the park again until after the ride was removed. When I went back and it was gone, I had for years convinced myself that I was a crazy person and that I had never been on a monorail safari at KI, that my 5 year old self just imagined it.  No one I knew that had been to KI as a kid remembered it and even my parents werent' sure what I was recalling - yet they were the ones that took me... Then lo and behold, one random day a couple of years ago, I decided to google it all and I found all kinds of pictures, history, and even some video. It was nice to know that I wasn't crazy  This article was very cool to read, thank you for sharing! Looks like a lot of work went in to gathering all of the history and details of the incident. 

[KIghostguy]

1 hour ago, Shaggy said:

AFAIK The Lion Country Safari was never opened year-round at KI.  It was intended to, but never did.  The park issued a press release the first week of October 1974 indicating the attraction would be open weekends only through November (originally intended for daily operations) and then closed for the winter months.  (Mostly because the area was bracing for a hard winter - predicted by the farmers almanac.)

Thanks. Yes, I just double-checked and you are correct. 

Hope you find the article interesting and feel free to use the info/pictures on Sit On It.

[fryoj]

On 1/6/2018 at 5:16 PM, Magenta Lizard said:

I can't believe he wasn't fired before the mauling. I can only hope it was that the incidents other than his leaving the vehicle were either not reported to his supervisors or were downplayed by those who witnessed them. Seriously, straddling a lion? Pulling their tails as a regular thing? What was wrong with him?!

You got to remember the times. Back then, kids could go roller skating in the streets with no helmets or pads. You could still whip your kids. Pregnant women smoked and drank. People smoked everywhere, including airplanes(gag). And lawyers didn't rule the world. Safety wasn't as big of a thing. Looking back, the guy clearly was asking for it. But then, they all probably had a good laugh about until he died. 

[King Ding Dong]

^ I remember people smoking in hospital rooms. Funny but not funny.  

[KImom]

^^ When I watch older movies with my kids (recently "Jaws"), they comment on how all of the people smoke all of the time...ever since they've brought it up, I notice it as well! It was just totally normal back then for everyone to walk around with a cigarette. One scene in Jaws, Sheriff Brody takes a big long drag and tosses the butt in the ocean! My 8 year old was all, "He's a smoker AND a litter-er!" 

[XGatorHead 8904]

When I was in elementary school, we went on a field trip to KI to ride the monorail.  It was my first time being in the park while it was closed; the only thing open was the monorail.  IIRC, our school was the only one there but I could very well be mistaken about that.  I was going to Hopewell Elementary at the time so this would have been 1st or 2nd grade in 1979-1981 or 4th or 5th grade in 1982 - 1984 (we had switched school districts in 3rd grade).  That's a field trip I'll always remember because it was so different to see the park absolutely quiet and I though it was so neat that they would open just for us.

Back then, my family only got to visit the park once a year using the tickets that my grandma got from working at KI. In addition to the park tickets, the employees were given tickets to the monorail too; I even received them when I started working at the park in '89, so I rode it every time I went back then.

And thanks for citing your sources.  I was going to ask for them too because a lot of those incidents sound like disciplinary issues that would have been kept within the park, but I can see how they were probably in the investigative reports that followed.

[KIghostguy]

59 minutes ago, XGatorHead 8904 said:

And thanks for citing your sources.  I was going to ask for them too because a lot of those incidents sound like disciplinary issues that would have been kept within the park, but I can see how they were probably in the investigative reports that followed.

As far as McCann's past incidents, with the exception of the clawing, no reports were written and they were only brought up in the statements from the fellow rangers.  

[YOULLBEBACK]

Could you imagine the liability of an attraction like this nowadays?  What a different world just a couple decades ago!