Depending on where you live, you might recall visiting a business that offers a kind of safari experience. These kinds of places offer a live, up-close look into the behaviors of exotic animals that we’d otherwise have to travel across an ocean to enjoy.
But of course, the drawback of these places is that customers often find themselves using their own vehicles and there’s not much they can do when the lions and monkeys decide they want to take a piece of it.
But in recent years, it seems that one lion sanctuary has found a way to bring customers closer than ever to the big cats without this kind of collateral damage.
And it looks kind of harrowing, but really cool all at once.
Over the past two years, GG Conservation in Harrismith, South Africa has treated visitors to a novel concept called a “reverse zoo.”
As we can see here, rather than having visitors gawk from outside the lion enclosures found in traditional zoos, they’re placed in plexiglass cages and surrounded by curious and sometimes aggressive lions.
According to The New York Post , three people over the age of 14 can spend up to 45 minutes in one of these cages for the equivalent of $134 to $197.
Once inside, they’re encouraged to take all the pictures they want while the lions are free to act as they normally would.
As the sanctuary’s website states, “We cannot guarantee how the lions will react but will endeavor to ensure you have a fantastic experience.”
It also assured visitors that, “The safety of both our guests and big cats is top priority.”
The experience also provides the sanctuary with some supplemental income to better care for the lions as it otherwise runs on donations.
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As for how staff at GG Conservation are ensuring visitors’ safety, it all comes down to the design and regular maintainence of the plaxiglass cages.
As the park’s director Suzanne Scott told The New York Post , “The [cage] is regularly checked by an engineer to ensure it can safely carry the weight should a lion jump on top of it.”
And that inspection is essential as the lions can range from 270 to 570 pounds in weight. As you can see, they seem to like perching atop the cages from time to time.
The park’s management also noted that the cages have multiple circular breathing holes.
And in case visitors had concerns about the ways the lions can interact with these holes, the park website further assured guests that, “These holes are totally safe and too small for a lion paw to get through.”
From the sounds of it, you won’t find a way to get closer to lions that doesn’t involve a danger of getting eaten.
h/t: The New York Post
