Lions, Tikes and Glass, Oh My!

A 3-year-old girl is being given a lot of credit for standing up to the King of the Jungle. Well, make that the King of the Wellington Zoo in New Zealand, where they keep big cats behind an acrylic wall, much like the at the

The young girl, Sophia, is being called a “lion tamer” by her father who uploaded a video of his “very brave daughter” on Jan. 3 making her the latest YouTube sensation for her stare down with a male lion.

Sophia doesn’t flinch when the big fellow tries to paw at her through the glass, leaving viewers of the video wondering if the lion was trying to attack her— and marveling over the strength of acrylic.

“There was no danger at all to the little girl,” said Robert Lessnau, curator of mammals at the Detroit Zoo. “That acrylic is several inches thick and rigorously tested for safety."

The Wellington Zoo and the Detroit Zoo are examples of a zoo trend, which uses  glass barriers to get rid of things such as moats, bars and wires.

“When we got rid of the moat (here at the Detroit Zoo) we were able to give the lions a lot more room,” Lessnau said. “And it is more attractive and natural looking. People get a feel of what it is like to look at animals up close and vice versa.”

Lessnau said objects (including people) fascinate cats. He believes the male lion in the video was not being aggressive; rather he was entralled with Sophia.

“If you watch the video, you’ll notice he never takes his eyes off her, even as other people approach the glass,” he said. “He becomes totally fixated.” Eye contact means a lot in the mammal world, he said.

Aggressive lion behavior includes an open mouth, a crouching stance, bearing teeth, or flared ears, he said.

“This lion is in a sitting position,” Lessnau said. “I think he is just frustrated he can’t get at her.” He said that doesn’t mean if the glass wasn’t there the lion would just play with her—just that the animal shows no attacking behavior.

At the end of the day, Lessnau said big cats at the zoo are no different than the small cat that sits on your windowsill.

“When I ride my bike past the lions’ exhibit sometimes one of the lions will run along beside me,” he said. “I am kind of like a big string toy to them.”