Game of Thrones has had a history of depicting brutal on-screen violence. Some of the events were inspired by real-life history, like the tragic Red Wedding. However, one Game of Thrones editor met a particularly gruesome end, something no one could have ever imagined.
Katherine Chappell, an editor for Game of Thrones, was savagely mauled and killed during a drive through a South African safari park in June 2015. A tourist in a car behind the talented 29-year-old described the “terrifying” moment he saw her blood seep from a lion’s razor-sharp teeth.
Katherine had embarked on a safari with Kalabash Tours during a break from two weeks volunteering at another nature preserve. The visual effects editor from New York was in Johannesburg to help wild animals and to get inspiration for a film on poaching.
Tour guide Pierre Potgieter, 66, said his own attempts to save Ms Chappell from the lioness’ vicious clutches resulted in him suffering a heart attack.
Watching on with camera in hand while his jaw dropped was 38-year-old engineer Ben Govender, MailOnline reported in 2015. Ben initially thought he was documenting a special face-to-face interaction between a lioness and a human, but within an instant, it dawned on him that the cat was not just curious.
He said: “We decided to show our friends a local spot where they could see real lions in a ‘wild’ setting. The SUV in front of us stopped next to two lions and the driver rolled down his window.”
“The passenger did the same, I presume to get a photo. The male lion didn’t seem very interested by this and at that point, the lioness didn’t seem bothered either.”
“She got up very lazily and stretched out her body. Then suddenly without warning, she stood up at the window of the SUV. Then the lioness lunged and we saw the driver diving into the passenger seat and punching at the lioness.”
Ben added: “It was terrifying. After the first bite, the lioness retreated from the car with blood dripping from her mouth and paw. We all thought she was done and didn’t like what she’d just bitten. But then like someone in a temper that wasn’t satisfied in a fight, she leaped back into the car and mauled the passenger.
“The rangers came running in and the two lions ran off but the lioness had half the passenger’s shoulder in her mouth. And it was too late to do anything to save her.”
Hopefully, her family will find the strength to move on after the tragic disaster. Please offer your condolences and well wishes in the comments below.
