You never know what you’re going to get when you take your children to the zoo. Will the animals be active and in good spirits or will they be hiding or laying about? One family caught a moment where a lion was a little too engaged with a young visitor who happened to pass by her enclosure.
The lioness, being able to see and likely smell the toddler through the thick glass attempted to take a bite out of the tot. Thankfully, the child’s parents were able to capture the whole thing on video to share with the internet.
The two lions had different reactions to the child.
In the video, the toddler – completely unaware of what’s going on in the enclosure – stands in front of a male and female lion at a zoo in Northern China. Although the male lion looks sleepy and uninterested, the lioness (the hunters of the species) eyes the child carefully. As the toddler moves over to stand directly in her path, she jumps up, attempting to capture the child with her paws.
When that doesn’t work, she opens her mouth wide, displaying her dangerously long teeth. Her failed pursuit clearly illustrates the damage she certainly would do if not for the barrier between this predator and her prey.
Although some parents would have removed the child at the thought, the adults around this baby were entertained by it all.
Some people were terrified at just the visual.
The video ends with the child, still oblivious and unharmed, and the lioness giving up, perhaps a little frustrated and even confused. As the video made its way to various social media sites, people had quite a bit to say about the lion, the parents, and the practice of locking up animals in cages.
“As a mum, I couldn’t bear to watch this let alone keep my child there for a moment, one user wrote. “although the child might still be safe. Everything within me was screaming.”
People shared their opinions about zoos being unethical.
Other people offered commentary about what the male lion must be thinking. “Lion: babe stop doing that, you are embarrassing us,” someone commented.
More than a few people had a lot to say about boycotting zoos as an ethical practice. “The only prison where all prisoners are innocent. #animalsarenotentertainment,” another person offered. “What a small enclosure for an animal that could track miles in an hour. Extremely sad.”
