- A rarely-seen pride of lions has been caught napping on the empty road just outside a usually busy rest camp in the Kruger National Park.
- The lockdown has allowed them to roam freely on the roads in the park.
- The pride includes two white lions, which are endangered.
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The Kruger National Park has shared pictures of a rarely-seen pride of lions who found an unusual napping spot as they enjoy the unusually quiet, almost vehicle-free park.
On Wednesday, the dozen lions were found sleeping in the afternoon sun on the warm tar road just outside of the popular Orpen Rest Camp, on the western border of the park.
Amid the national lockdown, the park has been shut down to visitors and roads are empty of cars, leaving the lions to roam free.
The photos were taken by Kruger Park ranger Richard Sowry.
The lion pride is usually resident in the Kempiana Contractual Park, the Kruger National Park says. Kempiana is part of an area owned by the World Wide Fund for Nature, and borders the Kruger park. Kruger tourists usually don’t have access to the park.
The pride includes two rare and endangered white lions.
According to the Global White Lion Protection Trust, there are only thirteen left in their only natural habit: the area around the Kruger park. There are hundreds in captivity, and white lions are a favoured target of so-called canned hunting. White lions have a rare genetic make-up, and their lighter colour is the result of a gene mutation.
Compiled by Helena Wasserman
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