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A pride of African lions and the world-renowned 'Lion Whisperer' Kevin Richardson have become
the unlikely stars of a glossy Mercedes-Benz advertising campaign.
One of the majestic animals climbs onto the bonnet of a Mercedes SUV in one stunning image,
and two others wrestle with Mr Richardson in his wildlife sanctuary in Pretoria, South
Africa, in the playful series of photographs. But the pictures, shot by photographer Adrian
Steirn, have a serious message - they are being used to raise awareness of the plight
of the animals in Africa.
The aim of Steirn and Richardson was a single picture that would capture a conservation
message: 'What legacy will we leave for our future generations?'
One image - between takes - shows expert Kevin Richardson wrestling comfortably with two
fully grown lions. In others, we see the animals inspecting a
camp fire and prowling on top of a Mercedes.
Photographer Steirn, 36, said: 'Hearing a two-tonne vehicle creak and move and seeing
the dents in the car that the lion left behind was a fascinating experience.
'It was unbelievable to see the size of their paws and how easy it was for them to jump
onto the vehicle, just how athletic they are.' Richardson is a conservationist whose work
has brought millions of people around the world into the discussion about lion conservation.
The founder of a wildlife sanctuary that is now home to over 30 lions, Richardson has
developed an intimate bond with his cats and he famously walks freely with the animals.
Flouting common misconceptions that breaking an animal’s spirit with sticks and chains
is the best way to subdue them, he uses love, understanding and trust to develop personal
bonds with the lions. He has presented and produced several documentaries
that detail his relationships with the animals and highlight the plight of lions both in
captivity and in the wild. Steirn added: 'To be able to really understand
Kevin's background and relationship with these big cats was incredible.
'He puts his heart and soul into lion conservation, so to be able to showcase the cats and their
massive value to our world in this way was a great opportunity.
'The lions weren't wild but habituated lions. Kevin was at home in his wildlife sanctuary
with these huge carnivores.'
The pair were given 48 hours to work with some of the most impressive predators in Pretoria's
Welgedacht Private Game Reserve. But getting the final winning shot proved
to be less than easy because the lions had to first become accustomed to Steirn.
The challenge for the duo lay in framing the male lion to the right of a caged female behind
bars in one of Richardson's cars, which was used as a makeshift prop to represent captivity.
During the project the pair also ran into difficulty with bad weather conditions - facing
a heavy storm in the first 24 hours of the shoot. 'That put a lot of pressure on time,'
said Steirn. The number of lions in the wild are decreasing
rapidly, with the current estimated population down to 20,000 - a major decrease on the estimated
100,000 in the early 1990s. 'They are such big animals so I was very well
aware of them because things can go wrong very quickly with the lions,' said Steirn.
'I have been shooting wild lions for almost 20 years now and to shoot these lions in this
capacity and to get this close was really extraordinary.'