Lion refuses to give away until it gets a cuddle from its favorite ranger (photos/video)

A fraternal bond between man and beast. A lion named Smokey took up a position in the middle of the road at the Glen Garriff Conservation Park in Harrismith, South Africa and stubbornly refused to budge until its favorite manager, Mike gave it a nice good stroke.

Suzanne Scott, from Glen Garriff Conservation, said that Smokey followed the same ritual every day. She explained:

'We cannot claim to ever know what lions are "thinking" but every evening the gate from Smokey's camp is opened to the passage so that he can come and go as he pleases. 

'It also gives us some security too. Every morning when Mike comes in to work he has this ritual with Smokey to get him back into his own camp so we can use the passage for vehicles. 

'It is our belief that Smokey often delays this process for more attention from Mike, who is his favourite person.But after all, Smokey is a big cat, and we all know that everything with cats is on their own terms.'

Glen Garriff is home to 80 lions and aims to promote the study, learning and understanding of the species.

More photos and the video below...