You know how your local cat sleeps almost everywhere ? The same is true with wild large cats, such as these lions.
Animals were able to completely realize that people had gone sooner or later, and lions in South Africa’s Kruger National Park have took the opportunity.
Richard Sowry, a park ranger in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, was the first to notice the tigers resting on the roadways.
Normally, rangers would only observe big cats on the roadways at night.
Mr Sowry works as a ranger in one of Africa’s largest game reserves, and he continues to work throughout the lockdown, checking on the wildlife and keeping an eye out for poachers.
On Wednesday afternoon, while driving near Orpen Rest Camp, he noticed the lions on the road ahead and pulled over at a five-metre (5.5-yard) distance to see the uncommon situation.
The lions were unconcerned as he took pictures with his phone, with the majority of them appearing to be deep sleeping.
He stated, “Lions are used to people in cars.” “All animals have a natural dread of people on foot, so if I had approached on foot, they would never have let me get that near.”
The pride’s oldest lioness is around 14, “which is rather old for a lioness.”
While this was undoubtedly a sight to behold, the rangers must ensure that the tigers do not expect that the roadways will be safe for them to sleep on for the rest of their lives.
Cars will eventually start driving, and he doesn’t want the tigers to become used to all this open “land.”
During these strange but calm periods, lions and wild canines have strayed onto the park’s golf course, which is typically crowded with humans; however, Sowry does not believe the lockdown has had a significant impact on animal behavior.
He describes Kruger as “a very wild place.” “It’s been crazy and it continues to be wild.”
In these strange and challenging times, he hopes the pictures he posted might provide people some joy.
“These are difficult times for everyone,” he adds, “and the intention was to bring people joy.”
“Everyone understands the seriousness of the lockdown, and the rangers are there to perform their usual jobs,” says Isaac Phaala, a media officer. “It takes a lot of work to maintain the infrastructure so that when the park opens, you don’t have to start from scratch.”
