As dozens of parks and zoos worldwide close down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the closure of the Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa
saw a pack of lions take advantage of the safari closures to get in a sneaky “cat nap” in the middle of a road.
The national park’s official Twitter account shared a group of photos depicting the massive African cats snoozing on the warm asphalt of the road, accompanied by a cheeky caption poking fun at the charming occurrence.
“Kruger visitors that tourists do not normally see,” the Twitter account proclaimed. “This lion pride are usually resident on Kempiana Contractual Park, an area Kruger tourists do not see. This afternoon they were lying on the tar road just outside of Orpen Rest Camp.”
Social distancing regulations have forced national parks, zoos, and other animal attractions to close in order to prevent transmission of the virus, and some animals seem to be loving it. From
the penguins that happily explored their lodgings during an aquarium’s closure to
the animals that have been openly roaming city streets during stay-at-home orders, these lions have joined animal kingdom friends worldwide in taking advantage of the diminished foot and car traffic from humans.
The animals at Kruger National Park don’t have the entire park to themselves, of course, which is how the pictures managed to get snagged. Park ranger Richard Sowry took the photographs, as his job is considered an “essential service,” and he’s still permitted on the nature reserve in order to oversee the welfare of the animals during times of lockdown.
As Kruger National Park
media officer Isaac Phaala explained, the lions’ behavior was, as expected, due to the lack of human activity out on the preserve; whereas the lions would typically try to avoid the safari vehicles and crowds, they saw an opportunity when they noticed that things had gotten a lot quieter as of late.
“Normally they would be in the bushes because of the traffic but they are very smart and now they are enjoying the freedom of the park without us,” he shared.
The lions aren’t the only animals at Kruger that have been taking advantage of all the empty space, either. Zebras, hyenas, and other African wildlife have been spotted “
groundskeeping“ on the local Skukuza golf course, which has been vacated during the pandemic.
Eventually, the hope is for things to get back to normal in society—and at that point, safaris and other tourism-based activities will almost certainly return to the national park. But for now, the animals have reclaimed part of their kingdom—and it seems like they’re going to enjoy it for the duration.
