If Hollywood taught us anything it is that you never EVER turn your back on a big cat.
And this heart-stopping footage from a zoo in Japan shows us exactly why.
The amateur video, captured at Chiba Zoo shows a little boy engaged in a staring contest with a large lion.
The little boy then turns his back on the lion but the lion being, well a lion doesn’t see a little boy, he sees a small yellow animal that looks like dinner.
The footage shows the lion then lunging for the two-year-old boy – dressed in a bright yellow rain coat – before face-planting into its glass enclosure.
The lion, which is said to weigh about 181kg, hits the glass at full speed, colliding with the window face-first.
He paws fruitlessly at the glass, giving those watching a fright before slowly slinking away.
Defeated.
Zookeepers have however said that the lion only wanted to 'play' with boy. Via YouTube.
Adam Roberts, CEO of Born Free USA, told The Dodo the “natural wild predator" saw the child as prey.
"The firm glass wall held the lion inside his enclosure, surely frustrating his innate instincts. But luckily for the family, if the barrier had not held the consequences could have been catastrophic."
He said the video highlights why keeping wild predators in such captivity is both cruel and dangerous.
The zookeepers have however said that the lion only wanted to 'play' with boy and always reacts this way whenever it sees young children.
The Jungle Book. Via Facebook.
Not dinner.
A toy.
Nevertheless it is a timely reminder. Never turn away.
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Top Comments
Lucky the zoo had glass or the all the self righteous ones would be calling for the mother to charged with neglect like they did with the mother who's child fell into the gorilla enclosure
The child didn't just "fall" in that case, though; he had to climb through the fence and shrubs surrounding the enclosure first.
The parents in the gorilla case need to accept some responsibility for what happened, as does the zoo for making the enclosure accessible for the child.
Have you seen photos of that gorilla fence? I have. It came up to a man's knees. It was 3 feet tall, had a log in front of it, and all the boy had to do was stand on the log, put one leg over, and he was in. A tiny thin hedge of grass, and he was right next to the gorilla. The zoo were negligent. The fence was woefully inadequate.
I'm with Salem on this one. Zoos responsibility to provide a safe environment.
I find it infuriating that some people don't believe the parents behaved at all irresponsibly. People need to start acting with some personal responsibility and stop placing blame solely on other people/businesses for their own poor actions. In this case, fault lies with both the parents and the zoo.
I agree with the zookeepers - the attitude of the lion was playful not "prey"-ful. I watched the video and was immediately struck by the similarities in the body language of the lion and my cat when she's in a playful mood. When cats big or small are after bringing something down their body language is completely different. Nevertheless the child would have been injured regardless.
I agree. The first thing that came to my head was not fear, but more cuteness at how much the lion wanted to play.
Not that i would want to see a situation without the thick glass in between. The lion is clearly huge and heavy and would do damage, playful intentions or not.