Lions are often seen as the Kings of the Jungle, and among the most fearsome predators on Earth, but they also happen to be big softies when you really get down to it, at times anyway.
Currently, lions are still the most fearsome predator in Africa, capable of spooking entire herds of buffalo and hunting in packs to take down giraffes and elephants, but they are also struggling when you get right down to the nitty gritty.
There are only 20,000 lions left on the entire continent of Africa according to Panthera.org, which is a shocking ten times less than the number of lions in the wild on the continent 100 years ago.
Lions are now extinct in 26 African countries, and have vanished from 95 percent of their traditional range according to the website — a terribly sad situation for anyone who cares about these majestic beasts.
Their numbers have decreased largely because of a lack of prey species, loss of habitat, and human encroachment and poaching among other reasons.
Despite this, the species hasn’t given up its throne just yet.
Lions are masters of adaption, hunting, stealth, brute strength, and, according to one video, making friends and cuddling with the local “wildlife” in their own right — in this case, a bus full of curious tourists.
This particular lion named Filya was craving a little attention as he wandered up to a bus full of tourists.
Without showing any aggression, he was let on board and began licking the occupants’ faces.
What would you do in this situation?
Would you be afraid and make a sudden movement, or just let the lion do its thing?
The lion also rubbed his head and face against the ladies in the tour bus, believe it or not.
This is a sign of respect and affection.
He just wanted love, and the tourists obliged by petting him as he enjoyed his fleeting moments of affection.
As shown by video footage and still photos posted by the website KingdomsTV.com, one tourist even whipped out his camera to get a few shots of the charming cuddler as he went to town on the bus, getting the maximum amount of cuddles in.
Talk about the photo-op of a lifetime.
Video of the scene is shown below.
It starts out showing the lion lounging near a building on the otherwise quiet day, as he rubs up against the driver of the vehicle, forcing him to step outside.
One female tourist can be heard charming the surprisingly sweet male lion, soothing and cajoling him with calls of his name, “Fillllya…Filllya” while also cracking up at the hilarity of the situation.
Check out the video below, and let us know if you have any clue how you would respond!
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