Coroner- Man attacked by lion bled to death

CARMI, Ill. -- A 52-year-old man likely bled to death after he was attacked by a lion, authorities said.

"The pathologist is relatively certain Mr. Abell bled to death from the animal bites," Hardin County Coroner Roger Little said Friday, following an autopsy.

Little told the Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale that Al Abell also suffered a broken neck caused by the 1,000-pound African lion slinging him around.

Abell was found Thursday evening by deputies who were called to his home near Elizabethtown in southeastern Illinois by his wife after she spotted the African lion loose on the property. Abell was taken to Hardin County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead later that night. Deputies shot and killed the 8-foot-long lion named Simba.

Authorities have speculated that the lion attacked Abell when he went into the animal's cage to change its bedding.

Abell and his wife ran Cougar Bluff Enterprise -- an exotic animal preserve that provided shelter for the lion, cougars, wolves and a bobcat, according to Jim Rogers, spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

The preserve has been inspected several times by the USDA since its license was granted in 2000 and was found compliant in all areas. Rogers said the preserve had to meet guidelines set by the federal Animal Welfare Act before the license was granted.

Rogers said whether the preserve can continue to operate will depend on a USDA investigation.