I'm not justifying what happened by any means, but, given that the only really safe place for the big cats, and lots of other species, to live is the zoo, You must realise how much of their environment, not to mentions their species, we have destroyed through wilful destruction of their habitat.

3 attacks is probably co-incidence, and no more. Horrible for the friends and family, with whom we all sympathise, but surely road deaths, murders, falls, drowning etc far outweigh the numbers killed by these animaks. I'd also note that hunters alone still kill animals of many species, whether they are 'protected' or not.