20 April

In South Africa, a pride of lions has been spotted napping on a road free of tourists amid a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The lions were photographed last week at the Kruger National Park by ranger Richard Sowry. The park is shut as part of the lockdown.

Sowry says the pride of 14 was made up of lionesses and cubs, and included rare white lions.

Sowry told NHK that the lions usually do little on the roads because of the heavy vehicle traffic. He says they probably like to lie on the asphalt as it retains heat during the day.

Kruger National Park is one of the world's largest wildlife reserves, spanning an area of nearly 20,000 square kilometers. The park gets about 1.4 million visitors per year.

South Africa has confirmed more than 2,600 cases of the coronavirus. The government has imposed a nationwide lockdown and suspended all passenger flights.

NHK