Male Lions Hold Up Traffic While Patrolling Their Territory

We may be used to slow traffic in our everyday lives when it comes to things like school children or the occasional elderly lady crossing the road. But in Kruger National Park of South Africa, something a little wilder has stopped travelers. This video shows a group of male lions thoughtfully patrolling their territory as a stream of onlookers stop in order to witness the scene. The lions, all siblings, slowly lead a brigade of cars down the rainy roadway.

The Kruger National Park, South Africa’s first ever national park, is home to all of Africa’s “Big Five” species: the lion, the leopard, the rhinoceros, the elephant, and the Cape buffalo. Although the term “Big Five” is now used colloquially and by safari operators, it was originally coined by big-game hunters to describe the five most dangerous and difficult animals to hunt in Africa. And despite being such a large and well-protected park, the Kruger National Park is no stranger to poaching problems. Rifle-bearing poachers are a constant problem in the area, posing as a huge threat to many of the animals, lions included.

In order to protect the animals against poachers, the park has employed many different anti-poaching tactics. Hundreds of park rangers, drones, and even canine units work day and night in order to ensure the safety of the park’s wildlife. There have even been several cases in the recent years of Kruger rangers and local poachers engaging in skirmishes over the rights of the animals in this national park. Many of the animals, including lions, find their safety jeopardized.

It’s easy to forget about the endangerment of animals like lions when they aren’t a constant traffic hazard in your hometown. Videos like this, though, give us a glimpse of the sheer power and majesty of these creatures. In the video, cars come to a standstill in order to witness the lion brothers sauntering down the road. You can hear the beeping of cameras mix with the plop plop plop of raindrops as the pride exits the frame. The males don’t even seem to take notice of the cars surrounding them. They don’t move to the side of the road in order to let traffic continue. To the kings of the jungle, a traffic jam is just another place to exhibit their place in the world. It’s a chance to walk calmly, side-by-side, to wherever it is that they need to go.