Investigators look at US lion attack An intern fatally mauled by a lion at a California animal park had loved lions and tigers since childhood, and "was absolutely fearless" around them, her father says. "She was at ease with those big cats," Paul Hanson, a Seattle-area lawyer, said of his daughter, Dianna Hanson, 24. Dianna Hanson, a 24-year-old intern at Cat Haven, was mauled to death by a lion at the exotic animal park. This undated photograph was provided by her brother Paul Hanson. They liked her. Hanson said that he had dropped his daughter off on January 2 at Cat Haven. "It was just a dream job for her," he said, adding that she gave him a little tour and showed him the lion Cous Cous, which authorities say killed her. Cous Cous. The lion was shot dead. Hanson said his daughter had worked with big cats before but told him she would not be allowed to go in the lion cage. On Wednesday, deputies found the woman severely injured and still lying inside the male African lion's enclosure. The lion was nearby. Another park worker couldn't lure the lion into another pen, so deputies shot and killed it to safely reach the wounded woman, but she died at the scene. Cat Haven founder Dale Anderson cried as he reads a statement to the media. Cat Haven founder and executive director Dale Anderson cried as he read a one-sentence statement about the fatal mauling at the private zoo he has operated since 1993. Anderson returned to the zoo on Thursday, driving through a gate surrounding the facility. "I feel awful," he said. Investigators were trying to determine why the intern was inside the enclosure and what might have provoked the attack, Sergeant Greg Collins said. Authorities are not pursuing a criminal investigation because all leads indicate Hanson's death was the result of an accident. Dianna Hanson's older brother, Paul Hanson, said the family knew the line of work she chose was risky, but his sister had followed her passion to care for animals from a young age. She grew up loving the family's two cats, volunteered at a local animal shelter and hoped to ultimately get certified to pursue a career in wildlife conservation or work at a zoo. "Anybody that encountered Dianna couldn't help being enraptured with her and with her enthusiasm," he said on Thursday. She knew the risks and we knew the risks, but that was her passion. You always wondered when she was going to work, but the risks were part of that. Cous Cous, a four-year-old male, had been raised at Cat Haven since it was a cub. Paul Hanson said he thought his sister would be devastated to know that Cous Cous was killed.