Transcript for Lion escapes zoo enclosure, kills 22-year-old intern

Your resolution. We are going to turn now though to the search for answers after a lion escaped a locked enclosure at a North Carolina park killing a 22-year-old intern. ABC's Stephanie Ramos is on the scene with more. Stephanie, good morning. Reporter: Whit, good morning. The conservator center serves as a nonprofit and describes itself as a zoological park dedicated to providing a specialized home to select carnivore species. One of those animals went after a woman whose family says she was following her passion here. This is Matthai, the sheriff's office says the male lion seen in this YouTube video posted by the center before the incident escaped a locked space, wandered into an area with staff and killed Alexandra black, a recent graduate of Indiana university. She had just started interning at the conservator center two weeks ago. Deputies later shooting and killing the lion when tranquilizers didn't work so they could retrieve black's body. This is the worst day of my life. We've lost a person. We've lost an animal. We have lost our faith in ourselves. Reporter: In a statement black's family says, Alex loved animals. Our beautiful, intelligent, passionate Alex had worked unpaid at several animal-related ventures. This was her fourth internship because she really wanted to make a career of working with animals. There was a terrible accident and we are mourning but she died following her passion. I am grateful for the family of this individual who is -- they're extraordinary people. And they understand that this was important to their loved one. Reporter: Experts say while plaque was with a team of experienced animal keepers, it is always easy and dangerous to forget the threat of wild animals in captivity. How does a lion get out of a locked enclosure? This is not -- you know, you little Orange tabby cat and people need to understand that because in a split second this is what can happen. I think any time you have an incident you have to take the time to really access what happened and that means some investigation. And we need to understand it and make sure that it's something that never ever happens again. Reporter: The center and sheriff's office tell us it's still unclear how the lion escaped that enclosure. The center is home to more than 80 animals and 21 different species. It will remain closed indefinitely. Now, this morning we just received a statement from the center. They say even though Alexandra black was here for just a short time, she plead a huge impact on the community. Back over to you guys. Stephanie Ramos for us in North Carolina, just a terrible upsetting story. Devastating for the family and for the center.

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