Did you ever go for a wildlife safari ride? Definitely, it might be a wow moment when you are watching wild animals very close to your sight. Some might be frightened even. This one incident is very much of that kind. Wildlife lovers who went on a safari in Karnataka’s Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) were in for a scare when two lions attacked their vehicle.

A Toyota Innova, with visitors inside, was attacked by two lions who had been tracking the vehicle and charged when it stopped. The video of the incident was shot by a person who is in safari bus behind the Innova.

The video, which was shown on local TV channels, shows one lion trying to cross the vehicle while another tries to climb on it and bite the rear window. When the vehicle starts moving again the lions leave.

An Innova is used in the park for those who pay higher fares for the tour, as it is a luxury car. The driver of the particular Innova was removed from safari duty after the incident, as the car should never have stopped, said BBP executive director, Santosh Kumar.

Safari vehicles are usually covered in mesh and the Innova had them on the sides, but not on the windscreen and rear glass.

“The attack took place on January 28 or 29. The driver is clearly at fault. He should never have stopped the car, which he probably did to please the visitors. We’ve removed him from safari duty,” he told TOI. “We’are planning to send a proposal to the state government to remove small vehicles like this and retain only safari buses. This will ensure safety of animals as well as that of visitors,” he added.

Watch The Video Here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDXcF-j4Ysw

“The lions or any other animal in the safari could have chased the vehicle out of curiosity or to break the boredom that captive animals have. If you see such videos, you will observe that lions don’t attack the vehicle or people in it. They stop whenever the vehicle stops,” said a veterinarian.

BBP has around 20 lions which are released in the safari area in groups of four or five. This is not the first time that a lion has attacked a safari vehicle. In September 2016, lions had attacked another Innova. The BBP management had then directed safari drivers to be more careful and not to get close to animals during their rounds.