These tourists got more than they bargained for when a fight between two ferocious lions spilled over into their vicinity and hit a little too close to home. One of the off-road vehicles leading safari goers at Serengeti National Park in Tanzania got its driver side door almost caved in by the impact of one of the lions crashing into it.
As was reported by The Independent, safari leader Albert Kimaro provided the following quote: “I have been a guide for eight years but I have never seen anything like this.”
I guess that’s comforting in a way, but at the same time, I suppose there’s a certain assumption of risk whenever you go out on an adventure like this. Good thing the lion didn’t crash into the window, right? Not sure if those safari SUVs are equipped with stronger glass or something. Based on what happened to that door, though, I’m pretty sure the driver would’ve been in serious peril. That lion could’ve easily shattered the glass and created a scene much scarier than the fleeting fight we got here.
In digging into Serengeti National Park a little more, it’s a pretty mind-blowing place. The park spans over 5,700 square miles, and sees over two million gazelles, zebras and wildebeests migrating around the epic landscape every year. I thought a massive pack of kangaroos hopping around a golf course was a lot to take in. Hard to imagine any given herd of those beasts coming through with those type of numbers.
Anyway, looks like the lion who got lit up was content to call the fight then and there and not mess with his rival anymore. Probably a smart move to hide behind the vehicle and wander off elsewhere. It’s pretty impressive that the lion who smashed into the door was seemingly unfazed by the severe collision. Denting a door like that takes an absurd amount of force.
In the end, it’s more of a relief than anything else to see that these people on the safari wound up OK.
