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Caswell County nature conservatory back open weeks after deadly lion attack

CASWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A North Carolina wildlife center reopened for visitors Saturday, a little more than a month after an intern was attacked and killed by a lion.

"The Conservators Center is looking forward to welcoming guests back for regular tours beginning this Saturday, February 2nd,” the Conservators Center website said. “We are excited to continue our mission of wildlife education and conservation."

[NC deputies fired 8 gunshots to subdue lion after fatal attack]

[Lion escapes enclosure, kills 22-year-old intern at NC nature conservatory]

On Dec. 30, Alexandra Black was killed at the Conservators Center in Caswell County during a routine cleaning of the lion's habitat.

The lion was shot and killed after attempts to tranquilize the animal failed, deputies said.

[MORE: Critics want change of state's oversight of exotic animals after deadly lion attack]

A "husbandry team" led by a professionally trained animal keeper was carrying out the routine cleaning when the lion somehow got loose, the center said in a statement.

It wasn't clear how the lion escaped the area, which was supposed to be locked, said the center

On its website, the center said it began giving public tours in 2007 and gets more than 16,000 visitors annually. It has more than a dozen employees and currently houses more than 80 animals and more than 21 species.

The center says it took in 14 lions and tigers in 2004 to assist the U.S. Department of Agriculture with caring for animals that were living in "unacceptable conditions."

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