Lion Surprises Photographer With Scary Roar, Then Winks And Smiles At Him

When the wildlife photographer got too close to a lion in Kenya, he had no idea what kind of response he would get. When the big cat saw him getting closer and closer with his camera, it let out an incredibly loud roar before flashing its cheeky smile at him!

Gren Sowerby is 69 years old, and he is a professional wildlife photographer. He captures beautiful images of animals, landscapes and people all around the world.

He leaned in and got close to the big cat when it suddenly flashed its pearly whites and let out a massive roar on a safari in Maasai Mara, Kenya.

Initially startled at the sudden appearance of a fierce animal, he continued to snap pictures and was left astonished when it smiled.

These stunning photos recently went viral, and it’s no surprise why!

“He roared to say: ‘I’m the King of the Jungle’ and then I couldn’t believe it when he smiled at me like when someone winks at you to say like: ‘Haha!’”

“I was probably 10-15 meters away and he was with a lioness, she was crossing a stream. They had a kill in the bushes and I think he let out a roar probably to say that he was full!” said Sowerby.

“I was taken aback by the sheer size and scale of him. From him being very still and quiet then for him to let out a big boom was quite something.”

Sowerby has been a photographer for over 37 years! He has been a professional photographer and has had great career success.

The photographer said he was ‘really happy with the photos’ and only looked at them properly once he got home.

‘I regularly go on these safaris and really enjoy photographing wildlife. They have grown up around the safari so they’re used to cars and tourists.’