BURLINGTON, N.C. — A wildlife conservatory in North Carolina says a worker has been killed by a lion that got loose from a locked space.

The Conservators Center in Caswell County says in a statement that the lion was shot and killed Sunday after it attacked the worker in an enclosure that was being cleaned.

The center says a “husbandry team” led by a professionally trained animal keeper was carrying out the routine cleaning when the lion somehow got loose.

The center says it wasn’t immediately clear how the lion left the area that was supposed to be locked. The center says it will be closed until further notice.

The facility was founded in 1999 and is in Burlington, about 50 miles northwest of Raleigh.