Pieter van Wyk, a 34-year-old park ranger in South Africa’s MalaMala Game Reserve, had a routine day at work until he saw something he will never forget.
The man was outdoors taking shots when a lion pride approached his vehicle. The moment was captured by Van Wyk, and it’s enough to make your hair stand on end!
On a bright and sunny day at the MalaMala Reserve, the lions were looking for some shade. When they observed that van Wyk’s car had left behind a shadow cat, they hurried to take a position. Nearly two dozen lions surrounded the car in seconds, trapping the ranger outside.
“It was early in the morning, and the thermometer was climbing fast as the sun rose higher into the sky,” said the ranger.
“The lions were on the lookout for shade, not food, so they decided that my vehicle’s shadow would do just fine. It isn’t unusual during hot days, and it was their decision to approach me in my ‘personal space.’
As the 22 lions grew too near for comfort, the game ranger was had to wait outside his car for a couple of hours until the sun went and the shade gone. It was then that van Wyk was able to return to his car after the beautiful cats had moved away.
“Animals have precedence, so I had to wait. But it wasn’t long before the shadow got too tiny, and they moved on. ” He captured the moment on his camera and it is not for the faint of heart.
