African lion plays tug-of-war with tourists on a safari ride; video goes viral, watch here

A tourist group from South Africa was in for the biggest surprise of their lives when a lion came to help their safari vehicle, which was stuck in the middle of a ditch.

The incident took place in the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve Part of Kruger National Park, South Africa. And, now the clip of the African lion helping the group and tugging playfully at a rope has gone viral on the Internet. 

The Baobab Ridge Game Lodge was conducting a tour headed by tour leader, Jabulani Salinda. The group was going through the Baobab Ridge when the safari vehicle got stuck in a jungle trail.  The group was well prepared for such conditions and they took out a tow rope to bail them out from the situation. 

The tow rope was then attached to the vehicle for rescue purposes but to everyone’s surprise, a lion appeared near the rope and began to tug at the rope. The lion grabbed the rope in its teeth and initiated a tug of war, as the jeep tried to move forward. The video was shared by the Baobab Ridge Game Lodge on their Facebook page.

Watch the hair-raising video here.

In the clip, the lion can be seen tugging at the rope and also trying to wrap it around a tree in an attempt to stop the safari from going forward. It also follows the safari till a certain distance while grabbing the rope in its teeth.

Some users found the clip amusing while several others expressed security and safety concerns regarding the tourists who were on the tour and felt that it was a reckless move by the tourist company.

The tourist company has given an explanation for the incident in a Facebook post and said that the guide could not get down as the lion had appeared and neither could he remove the rope. Hence Salinda, the guide, tried his best to move away from the lion along with keeping in mind not to provoke the animal in fear of initiating a chase.

Meanwhile, Salinda told the New York Post that the group was worried about seeing the lion and he tried to calm them. He said that initially they felt that the lion was angry but it was only a few moments later when they realised that the lion was playing.  Everyone then enjoyed the fearless feline’s tug-of-war and it was for the first time in his career of 19 years that Salinda had seen a lion play this way.