The Lehe Ledu Wildlife Zoo in China’s Chongqing City has put a spin on the usual zoo visit experience – people pay to be locked in cages, while hungry lions and tigers roam free around them. The thrilling experience is meant to show visitors what it’s like to come face-to-face with predators, instead of just viewing them from a safe distance.

The service has proved to be hugely popular, and tickets have been sold out for the next three months. Visitors are apparently forking over their cash just to be caged in the back of a truck as it ambles around the park. To make the experience more exciting, huge chunks of raw meat are tied to the bars of the cage on the outside, just to catch the attention of the beasts and draw them closer.

Photographs show zoo visitors caged in a truck while a pride of lions surrounds them, obviously eyeing the chunks of meat. “We wanted to give our visitors the thrill of being stalked and attacked by the big cats but with, of course, none of the risks,” zoo spokesperson Chan Liang explained.

“The guests are warned to keep their fingers and hands inside the cage at all times, because a hungry tiger wouldn’t know the difference between them and breakfast.”

“It’s nothing like I’ve ever experienced in a zoo before,” said visitor Tao Jen, who recently went on the trip. “We’re not looking at them, they’re looking at us – and we’re lunch.”

Photos China News

via GB Times