A male lion gave tourists a fright when they drove their vehicle close to the feline.

Footage shows a male lion and a lioness resting on the right side of a road when a vehicle of safari goers approaches.

As the vehicle gets closer to the felines, the male lion suddenly gets up and growls as if it was about to attack the vehicle.

The filmer commented: ''As the vehicle got closer and closer to the lions, we could see the immediate change in the male’s behaviour,

''The male lion started voicing a deep threatening growl after which he suddenly jumped up and snarled at the vehicle.

''Looking at the passenger’s reaction at that moment it was clear that the lady got a huge fright.

''In the end, the tourists managed to get past the lions, leaving the scene with a nervous smile and a memory of a lifetime. The male lion calmed down quickly and went back to relaxing next to his female,'' he continued.

The clip was captured on February 28.

During a safari in the Kruger National Park we came across a male and female lion, relaxing right next to the tourist road. We were stuck behind a string of cars in the left lane. The lions were lying on the right-hand side of the road, only leaving a narrow gap for oncoming traffic to squeeze through between the lions and the left lane vehicles. After spending some time with the two big cats, one tourist vehicle decided it was time to move on and slowly approached the big cats. The passenger in front had her camera out the window while taking pictures of the big male busy yawning. As the vehicle got closer and closer to the lions, we could see the immediate change in the male’s behavior. The male lion started voicing a deep threatening growl after which he suddenly jumped up and snarled at the vehicle. Looking at the passenger’s reaction at that moment it was clear that the lady got a huge fright. It surely must have been very intimidating having such a big cat snarling at you while standing right next to your vehicle. In the end the tourists managed to get past the lions, leaving the scene with a nervous smile and a memory of a lifetime. The male lion calmed down quickly and went back to relaxing next to his female.