Coming to a rendezvous with wild nature and its inhabitants into the private south African reserve “The Park of Lions and Rhinoceros” you risk to stay there longer than you expected and under protest. The fact is that the local lions have a new amusement, which cannot be called a safe one- they gnaw the tires of the tourists’ automobiles.
It is difficult to explain why all of a sudden the “kings of beasts” started to like tires. The reason is definitely not hunger- they are fed abundantly. Probably the reason is just a simple curiosity; lion in its nature is only a cat and for all representatives of the cat family is quite natural to investigate the surrounding things.
The day before the park’s visitors were witnessing the following picture. The owner of a small truck had barely managed to park and leave the cab, a young lion slowly started to the automobile. He seemed to like the front wheel and began to gnaw the tire thoroughly spitting from time to time pieces of rubber. The tourists called on the hunters. They unsuccessfully tried to distract the four-legged epicure from his meal. Finally one of the workers grasped the idea and brought a bucket of meat and seducing the predator with food managed to get him away from the unfortunate car.
Each park visitor receives a booklet which contains the insistent recommendations on how to behave when meeting lions. The tourists are asked not to open the car windows or try to drive them away with cries or gestures- lions aren’t called the “kings of beasts” for nothing, they can’t take disrespectful treatment.