Heart-pounding moment tourist safari jeep makes narrow escape from chasing lion

A terrifying video has gone viral on social media this week, which sees a tourist jeep barely escaping the clutches of a lion while out on a safari.

The video was allegedly filmed in the Vajpayee Zoological Park near Bellary in southern India earlier this year, while a group of tourists were being driven around the park by a guide.

The back dash-cam attached to the rear of the car then shows an adult lion appear and chase the vehicle for more than a kilometre. The visitors can be heard laughing nervously as the driver speeds away, leaving the aggressive big cat behind. 

Watch the frightening video of the chase below:

The lion in question was later revealed to be a six-year-old male named Keshri, who had apparently only recently been introduced to the expansive park; relocating to Ballari from Bannerghatta zoo in Bengaluru. Vajpayee Zoo comprises nearly 350 acres of open grassland, and houses a total of eight big cats: four tigers and four lions.

Commenting on the incident, Ballari zoo Executive Director Sonal Varshi told IANS that the incident was nothing for potential visitors to the park to be worried about, claiming: "It's a non-event, which occurred 45 days ago in late August during our zoo safari. Nothing untoward happened, as chase by lions and tigers in their territory is common."

Credit: 2038

He continued: "The lion got worked up when the driver took the jeep closer to it and raised the throttle, which provoked it to charge and chase it at top speed. Keshri was a new entrant in the zoo and was released in the protected area to settle down. It has accustomed to vehicles and visitors now."

Nobody was hurt in the incident, but this video shows why we should all be wary of wild and dangerous animals, even in parks and zoos.