THIS is the shocking moment a giant lion surfs on the roof of a trailer after a high-speed escape.
Horrified motorists watched as the beast sailed along at 60mph on the road in South Africa before making a break for it.
One clip shows the huge cat standing on top of the seal grey trailer box – which it had somehow escaped.
After being alerted to the perilous situation, the driver pulls over onto the verge.
As they do so, the lion leaps off the roof and lands heavily on the road, before trotting off.
Another clip shows him prowling along the fence next to the verge after making his break for freedom.
The driver had just bought the maneater from a game farm and was transporting it to its new home.
Somehow, the predator had leapt upwards and smashed open an observation hatch in the trailer’s ceiling.
It then decided to clamber onto the roof and perch there for the ride.
The lion reportedly sat there for several miles, until the driver was flagged down.
Despite the lion thumping down hard, it bounced back up again and strolled to the roadside.
Here it walked along the fence line for a mile.
Fortunately, the lion was still under sedation after being loaded into the trailer so settled down under a tree close to the town of Bakerville.
The South African Police Service were alerted and contacted local vet Dr Anton Nel of the Lichtenburg Animal Hospital who was despatched to the scene.
He said: “The walls of the trailer were smooth and about 2.5m high yet the lion managed to scale it and get his large body through the very small observation hatch.
“It was quite an extraordinary escape and it then enjoyed the view from the roof until it jumped off and when I got there it was lying in the grass under a roadside tree.
“It still had some sedation in its system so was mellow and after I darted it walked a short distance before the drugs took effect and lay down and went to sleep.
“He was loaded again without incident to continue his journey,” he said.
The National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said they had been alerted and would conduct a formal inspection of its new home to ensure it was safe.
The new owner of the lion Pat Loots confirmed the lion was safe on his game farm and failed to understand why the video of his lion went viral or was newsworthy.
He said: “All I will say is the lion is 100 per cent safe and was uninjured.”
The lion was being transferred from Free State Province to the owner of Pamaronons Safaris’ game farm Putfontein near Zeerust in North West Province.
Lions can weigh up to 250kg and stand 1.2m high at the shoulder and run at 50mph and there are estimated to be 22,000 left.
They kill some 250 humans every year.
