A game ranger filmed when a pride of 22 lions surrounded his car in a game reserve in South Africa.
Pieter van Wyk took a video of the lions as they noticed the large shadow cast by his vehicle. They were just looking for a place to escape the glaring sun.
The pride closely surrounded the 34-year-old in his jeep in the MalaMala Game Reserve in Mpumalanga. The big cats forced Pieter so sit and wait for the sun until the lions no longer needed the shade.
The lions lined up right next to Pieter’s jeep. The lions were sticking their heads up to see him as he was filming them.
He joked that this was a typical ‘South African problem’. However, it’s unknown whether he meant about the hot weather or big cats keeping him in the car.
Read More: Man Goes Viral After Singing ‘Lion King’ Song With His Donkey
It was really hot outside, so the lions weren’t looking for food, they just wanted to hide from the sun. Fortunately, Pieter appeared with his jeep at the right time. The pride of the 22 lions decided that the shadow cast by his vehicle is alright.
This is a common thing that happens during really hot weather at the MalaMala Game Reserve. Lions have the right to decide and invade Pieter’s personal space.
Fortunately, they didn’t keep him in his car for long. The shadow got too small and lions were forced to move on.
The video is a part of the series named Rangers in Isolation. As rangers are currently in lockdown, they decided to share videos online of their game drives and fieldwork.
Rangers hope that people who wanted to visit the game reserve but were forced to cancel their trip due to the pandemic can still watch the African bush and some amazing natural encounters.
The 5,000-hectare reserve is home to many animals including cheetahs, hippos, leopards, hyenas, elephants, giraffes and Cape buffalo.
