“Playing Dangerous Games With Lions”: Lion Aggressively Grabs Man Feeding It by Hand, SA Stunned

• A dramatic video captured the moment a man nearly lost his hand after a caged lioness lunged at him during a feeding session
• The post was shared on Facebook, drawing massive engagement and warnings from viewers about the dangers of keeping wild animals
• Social media users urged the predator to be returned to its natural habitat following the aggressive encounter at a residential property

A terrifying encounter involving a caged lioness left online viewers shaken after a man escaped a life-altering injury during a routine feeding.

The clip was shared on Facebook on 6 April 2026, where it gained massive engagement from social media users who were happy that he escaped unharmed, but warned against domesticating wild animals.

The man was filmed trying to open the gate slide where the lion was kept safely. The animal stood watching him as he struggled to open it with one hand while the other held a full chicken, with a few more in a crate next to him.

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The lioness goes for the man's hand

As soon as the gate opened enough for the man to put his hand in, the lioness lunged at his hand. It aggressively tried to pull him towards itself, ignoring the chicken. Facebook user Jackie Malema's video showed the man fighting hard to pull himself from the grinning animal's grip and even falling on the floor after he managed to free himself.

Watch the Facebook video below:

SA is disturbed by the caged lion

The clip gained massive views and hundreds of comments from social media users who were shocked to see the lion's aggression. Many viewers said the man was lucky to be alive and advised him to open a hole to put the food in, instead of having the whole gate opened. Some said he was playing dangerous games, warning that lions were not pets. One user was disturbed seeing the lion kept in a home enviroment and called for it to be returned to the forest where it belonged.

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User @Lesiba Collen warned:

"That's not a pet, bro."

User @Tinashe Mrangari commented:

"Let the animal be in the forest where it belongs."

User @Shandukani Psalmist shared:

"Playing dangerous games with lions."

User @Munya Dee Dengu teased:

"Maybe biting the hand that feeds you sometimes isn't so bad if that hand is the reason why you can't hustle your own food."

User @Lucid Sin added:

"Instead of the lion grabbing the meat, it grabs your hand. Very funny."

User @Rap Raps said:

"This is not a chicken's cage; it is a lion's den."

User @Tino Makunde asked:

"How lazy was the gate maker not to even leave a hole for feeding? The gate maker was so lazy that he spray-painted it there."

3 Briefly News lion-related articles

• A tourist visiting the Kruger National Park was unhappy after receiving a R2,500 fine for ignoring the rules by stepping out of his car in search of the lions.
• A private game reserve owner who lives in a house with two massive lions went inside their cage to feed them, shocking many social media users.
• A wildlife-loving man was filming a lion at a game reserve when it came charging towards him, causing him to drop the camera on the ground.

Source: Briefly News