InstagramKatherine Chappell, who worked as a visual effects editor on Game of Thrones, was killed by a lion at a wildlife park in South Africa this week. She was 29.
Her body was identified on Tuesday and she will be laid to rest at a memorial service in her hometown of Rye, New York on Saturday. Her family paid tribute to Chappell, who went by Katie, in a Facebook post. Her mother Mary, father Jon, sisters Jennifer and Lauren and Brother Ryan said she was a "brilliant, kind, adventurous and high-spirited woman" who "was very much loved and shared her love for life with those she met," NBC News reported.
Chappell was riding in a vehicle in Lion Park near Johannesburg on Monday when a lioness lunged and bit her through an open window, mauling her to death. Her tour guide and driver, Pierre Potgieter, 66, tried to free her from the animal's grasp and suffered severe arm injuries, as well as a heart attack, and was later hospitalized in the ICU, according to South Africa's Eyewitness News.
In a statement on Facebook, Lion Park officials expressed their condolences over the tragedy and detailed what they were told about the attack.
Park signs state visitors should keep vehicle doors and windows locked. Potgieter said Chappell had rolled down the car window to take a picture before the lion attacked. Lion Park said witnesses had said that both Chappell and her driver's windows were open as they approached the pride of lions and that Chappell, who was sitting the passenger's side seat, was taking photos of the animals from a short distance away.
"According to witnesses, a lioness then began slowly walking towards the vehicle," the statement said. "The lady was taking pictures of this lion which then stopped about a meter or two away from the vehicle. Witnesses state that the lady still had her window fully open at this point when the lion lunged towards the car. It then bit the lady through the open window. The tour operator driving the vehicle then tried to fend off the lion and get it to release the lady."
Park members rushed to the car and chased the lion away and others began to administer first aid to Chappell, after which an ambulance arrived and paramedics took over, the statement said. Chappell died at the scene and the driver was hospitalized.
"We would like to assure everyone that we will not euthanize the lioness," the statement said. "The lioness will remain under our care."
Chappell lived and worked in Vancouver in the two years before her death. She posted photos from her trip abroad on her Instagram page.
In addition to Game of Thrones, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Special and Visual Effects at last year's Emmy Awards, she also worked as a visual effects editor and compositor on movies such as Noah, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Divergent and last year's Godzilla reboot.