Lion Surprises Photographer With Scary Roar, Then Winks And Smiles At Him

A wildlife photographer Gren Sowerby got the ‘shock of his life’ when he came a little too close to a lion before it let out a huge roar and flashed him a cheeky smile in Kenya. Gren Sowerby, 69, leaned in and got close to the big cat when it suddenly flashed its pearly whites and let out a massive roar on a safari in Maasai Mara, Kenya, in September. While he was initially startled, he continued to snap pictures of the ferocious animal and was left astonished when it gave him a smile.

Working as a wildlife photographer seems like the perfect job. You're always on an adventure, one with nature, tracking and capturing beautiful photographs of majestic creatures. Well, 69-year-old wildlife photographer Gren Sowerby from Whitley Bay in Northumberland is living the dream, taking pictures of animals, landscapes, and people in Kenya, Tanzania, Crete, and the United Kingdom. Sowerby's name recently went viral on the internet because of a burst of photos he took, showing a lion yawning and then smiling and winking at the photographer. The photos are absolutely stunning, so it's no wonder they captured nearly everyone's attention.