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    The Sideshow

    Video: Lion lunges at toddler through zoo glass

    Three-year-old Sofia Walker was standing face to face with a lion at the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand when Malik--who is seven years old, and quite a bit more ferocious than his observer was--suddenly lunged at the toddler through the glass.

    "I was brave," Walker said of the incident. Thankfully, she was also protected from Malik by a 33 mm thick pane of glass that can withstand the impact of a sledgehammer. The incident was captured on video by Sofia's mom, Julian, which you can watch here:

    Although she moves back slightly after Malik's first lunge, it's clear that Sofia is not phased. In fact, at one point she turns to her mom and asks, "What's he telling me?"

    A voice can then be heard off-camera responding, "I think he's telling you to move away."

    The Wellington Zoo's Paul Hatton told the New Zealand Herald that Malik is a "grumpy" and "defensive" lion who probably saw Sofia as a trespasser. Nonetheless, Hatton was surprised by little Sofia's bravery.

    "There were a couple of moments where she was a little bit surprised, which is fair enough completely, but she didn't seem too bothered," Hatton said. "He's massive, and you sometimes forget how big he is until you see a picture of him right up next to a small child. He's a big character."

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    89 comments

    • Strontium  •  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  •  4 mths ago
      Any animal behaviorists out there? I don't mean to take the 'cutness' away from the story, but the lion didn't 'lunge', and the girl didn't 'stare him down'. The lion was merely irritated by her presence, and would have used the swipe of his paws to remove her head from her body, (probably in search of any reasonable common sense!), since she failed to get out of his face on her own. And her lack of 'startle reaction' simply indicates in a wild world situation, her DNA would most likely not be passed on to future generations. Oh well....
    • Grumpy  •  4 mths ago
      "Lunged"? More like 'Pawed' at the glass - however, My, my what BIG paws you have...
    • stan  •  Elmhurst, Illinois  •  4 mths ago
      The zoo later apologized, stating that the lion will attend anger management classes.
      • words4world 4 mths ago
        funny! though I don't see what the zoo has to apologize for. After all it was the lion who let his temper get the better of him, not the zoo.
      • Ren River 4 mths ago
        1,000 Internets to you, good sir! And Words, you have killed the joke. Stop doing things like that.
      • Berry Beautiful 4 mths ago
        LOl funny.
    • Matt  •  Plano, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Title should read : Piece of glass in Zoo, does what it is designed to do.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  4 mths ago
      "What's he telling me, mama?"
      "Let me out of here."
    • Troy  •  4 mths ago
      It's important to let the kid understand that it was the glass that kept her alive from the lion.
    • a  •  4 mths ago
      i think you need to look up the definition of "lunge." The media has taken this wwwwaaaaaayyy over the top, but I applaud them for revealing their own disregard for truthfulness. Just think how many other stories (ones that are actually important) have caused unnecessary reaction, fear, and domino effect chaos when it comes to things like stocks... war... politics... society...
    • Nunya  •  Dallas, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      Dear Editor: The word is "fazed".
      • Michael 4 mths ago
        The video shows the lion using a Star Trek phaser, so it must be "phased".
      • John 4 mths ago
        Affirmative. She had not been phased Mr. Spock.
      • worksforbeer 4 mths ago
        Nunya, I vote for you to be the editor. Seriously. Those people make good money and they can't even spell or use proper English. And it's not like they have a deadline to "get it into print" for a publishing deadline, as in the old days. They have all the time in the world, the spell check programs, etc. They have simply lowered the bar on journalistic standards.
    • Charles  •  4 mths ago
      Probably just looked like a TV picture to the girl. Misleading headline, the lion did not lunge "through" the glass -- that is a significant difference.
    • smooth  •  4 mths ago
      When she's old enough to understand and watches this tape, she's going to faint.
      • Troy 4 mths ago
        Tape? What tape? It's on YouTube.
      • smooth 4 mths ago
        Suck off
    • Garr Obo  •  Warren, Ohio  •  4 mths ago
      Bravery? Not really. Simply ignorance.
    • tommy  •  Beaverton, Oregon  •  4 mths ago
      Taunted and teased by humans, day in and day out, caged and unable to roam freely, no sense of fulfillment and unable to kill himself to escape his living hell. Poor lion. Stupid, insensitive humans.
      • alexa 4 mths ago
        My thoughts exactly Tommy... it's sickening all the animals we human animals keep in cages... how dare we ! If you look into their eyes you can see what we've done to them ..... the resignation, despair, ... and sometimes hate !
    • A Yahoo! User  •  4 mths ago
      Wait 'till she does that with a pitbull. Somebody better educate the little girl before that.
    • Deedafuzz  •  4 mths ago
      Ahh... moronic news anchors. Yes, she did indeed flinch. I think we should put the morning news cast in the lions cage. Now that's news!
    • Hidden4good  •  Southfield, Michigan  •  4 mths ago
      #$%$.. There was NO lunging, he merely pawed at the glass. And there was no "THROUGH" the glass either.I saw the very same video yesterday with the heading "Girl out stares lion". But it guess that was not 'sensational' enough for Yahoo.Another Yahoo taking nothing and blowing it out of proportion!. BUT!! Give Yahoo credit, at least they DID provide the video this time.
    • pixietrail  •  4 mths ago
      Aren't humans brave torturing animals behind thick panes of glass?
    • Donna  •  Homewood, Illinois  •  4 mths ago
      It is not bravery;it's inexperience. We as humans would not have lasted too long if we didn't learn to run from a sabertooth tiger.
    • The Watcher  •  Austin, Texas  •  4 mths ago
      And this passes for the modern equivalent of "news". So sad...
    • MusicIsLife  •  Pleasanton, California  •  4 mths ago
      She flinched
    • Amy  •  Buffalo, New York  •  4 mths ago
      "phased" should be "fazed" in this article.
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