JOHANNESBURG -- A lion that mauled a young woman to death in South Africa was under the care of a man known as the "lion whisperer" for his close interactions with the predators in his animal sanctuary. Kevin Richardson, who keeps lions at his refuge in the Dinokeng Game Reserve, says on Facebook that he and a colleague took three lions for a walk in the reserve on Tuesday and that one chased an antelope, eventually encountering the woman at least 1.2 miles away.

Richardson says he had sent out a "notification" that he was walking with the lions.

He says the woman died at his operation's tented camp in Dinokeng. Richardson says she had accompanied a friend "to conduct an interview for an assignment with the camp's manager."