Close encounter

Although at first glance you could assume this may have been taken with a telephoto lens or cropped in Lightroom. It was taken at a distance of about 1 metre at the fabulous South African Lion Park at Kalkheuvel, not far from Pretoria. I was fortunate to have a private encounter with the 2 young lions on what is known as the Lion Walk.

This male is around 18 months old and weighs 80 kilos. The female  was 15 months old and a bit smaller. This park is the one visited by Arnold Schwarzenegger and his Aussie partner Tony Doherty last week. They gave it a very high recommendation, suggesting I should check it out. You can touch the lions but not on the head. It was an experience I will never forget.