BIG CATS VISIT LODGE RESIDENTS WITH PIX AND VID By Shuk Yee Tsang Guests were left stunned when not one but two big cats casually wandered through their unfenced safari lodges, turning an ordinary morning into a heart-racing wildlife encounter. The footage was filmed by Zaheer Ali, a photographer from Johannesburg, South Africa, during a family stay at in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. In one clip, a leopard is seen walking along the lodge driveway, lingering around the property for hours. In another extraordinary moment, a large male lion calmly approaches a small bird bath at the lodge entrance for a drink as guests prepare to head out on a game drive. Zaheer stressed that the encounters were completely natural and not staged, meaning wildlife can move freely through the area at any time. Zaheer said: “So this is the first moment we realised there was a leopard on the driveway. The video really doesn’t do justice to the heart-racing experience of watching this unfold in real time.” Describing the lion’s visit, he added: “Probably one of the wildest moments from our stay. "The best part, we got to experience this as a family. “Just to be clear, this was not staged, and we were never walking around near the lion. "We were getting ready to leave for our game drive when he appeared, completely calm and relaxed, simply moving through the area as wildlife naturally does in the Kgalagadi. “The lodge team managed the situation professionally. At no point was anyone in danger. "Still cannot believe we experienced this in real life.” END
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