Photo: DPA
Zoos offer people the chance to learn . . . and gawk . . . at wild animals secured in a cage. And now, there's a REVERSE ZOO where wild animals can gawk at humans while THEY'RE secured in a cage.
A lion sanctuary called GG Conservation in South Africa offers a package where people can go into a plexiglass cage at the center of a lair with 77 rescued lions.
Three people can fit in the cage at once, and you're in there for 45 minutes.
The sanctuary has done this for about two years, and they say safety is a top priority. That said, they also warn visitors that they "cannot guarantee how the lions will react."
The lions will jump onto the top of the cage, so it's regularly inspected by an engineer to make sure it can hold their weight, which can be up to 570 pounds.
The sanctuary says the cage is good for the lions too, because, it offers them enrichment in the form of mental and physical stimulation.
This sounds like one of those once-in-a-lifetime experiences that will cost an arm and a leg, but it's reasonable. Prices range from about $130 to $200, with the profits going toward the care of the lions.
(The "New York Post" has photos. And here's avideo. It cuts off at kind of a scary moment.) Image © 2021 Getty Images