Lions attack family of four at West Midlands Safari Park
What was meant to be a quiet drive through the West Midlands Safari Park turned into a very close encounter with a fierce pride of lions.
On what was supposed to be a quiet weekend in a drive-in
lion enclosure quickly turned into a terrifying stand-off for Abi Tudge and
Jazzy Reynolds.
As they made their way through the park in their Hyundai i30,
the two women and the two children they were travelling with were suddenly
caught in a lion stampede.
It is suspected that the lions were chasing a lioness, and
the Hyundai just happened to be in the way. Abi describes feeling ‘shaken’ when
one of the lions leapt onto the bonnet, leaving a dent. She remained calm
because she did not want to alarm the children.
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This encounter could possibly have ended on a different note if the lion, which typically weighs 190kg, had made impact with the glass of the windscreen and broken it.
Though the four were stuck in the enclosure for close to an hour before the lions were calm enough and the rangers could open the gates for them to leave, thankfully no one was hurt.
Abi says the children were not fazed by the incident, and spoke excitedly about the experience on the drive home.