Shocking moment lion leaps from moving vehicle after escaping trailer – then prowls the roadside
This is the extraordinary moment a giant lion was captured leaping off the top of a trailer and slamming into the ground before trotting onto the side of a highway in South Africa.
A passenger travelling along the R49 road between Bakerville and Lichtenburg managed to film the male lion escaping from the truck’s roof hatch.
The vet involved with its recapture, Dr Anton Nel, said the lion was still sedated before it leapt onto the road and was found lying in the grass under a tree in a ‘mellow’ state.
The lion was reloaded onto the truck after it was darted and went to sleep without any problems.
Nel described the inside of the truck transporter as 2.5 meters high with smooth walls.
He said apart from a ripped nail and other minor problems, the lion was healthy with no apparent fractures.
‘They are tough animals, used to taking on buffalo.’
Local media are reporting the king of beasts was on his way to a Game Farm in Nietverdiend in the Ramotshere Moiloa region of the North West.
A passenger travelling along the R49 road between Bakerville and Lichtenburg managed to film the male lion escaping from the truck’s roof hatch
Nel described the inside of the truck transporter as 2.5 meters high with smooth walls. He said apart from a ripped nail and other minor problems, the lion was healthy with no apparent fractures
The new owner of the lion, Pats Loots, wouldn’t release many details about the big cat but told local media the lion was 100 percent safe and in a cage on his property.
The North West Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism said the lion’s escape is under investigation.
The Daily Mail has approached Pats Loots for comment.
Earlier this year, a pet lion escaped its home in Pakistan’s Lahore, where it chased a woman and two children down a busy street before pouncing on them.
CCTV footage released in July by Police shows the lioness pouncing over a fence, before leaping onto the woman’s back, forcing her to the ground.
The father of the two kids said the lion then turned to his five-year-old and seven-year-old, while attempting to claw them.
The trio were taken to hospital, but no one was in a critical condition.
The father added the owner of the lion was amused to see it attack people in the street.
Police arrested three men who attempted to flee with the 11-month-old lion, which was sent to a wildlife park.
