We were on Safari in Botswana when we came across a sleeping lion right next to the track we were on. We all grabbed the opportunity to grab some close-up photos. After a minute, or so, he obviously got fed up with all the attention and got up to leave. He decided to walk alongside our vehicle, close enough so that, if I were extremely foolish, I could have stretched my hand out to stroke him.
Just as I was taking that photo one of the women behind me let out a high-pitched squeal. The lion whipped his head round and stared into the vehicle.
As one, we all put our heads down and kept unbelievably quiet. For a dozen seconds, which felt like a few years, the only sound was hearts trying to beat their way through rib cages. Until the lion decided that there wasn’t a tasty morsel hidden amongst us and wandered off.