Can you call this close encounter work?

In the shade we would find them. Lazing around on a warm Autumn day.

This wasn't the first time I had seen these particular beasts, but it was the first occasion that I have seen them this close.

When the email landed in the inbox last Tuesday from Taronga Western Plains Zoo it sparked our interest in the newsroom.

The zoo was running a special Lion Pride Lands Patrol tour for Dubbo local media on Thursday, as the tours were about to start again for the first time since the latest cohort of lion cubs were born at the zoo late last year.

Places were limited so an email went back from the Daily Liberal newsroom confirming a journalist would be there. Then I later sent an email adding my own name to the list and taking the opportunity to get out of the office.

With our photographer away I ended up taking a camera with me so I could make myself useful once the patrol vehicle filled with a few journalists made its way through those gates.

One of the zoo's experience officers (love that job title), Linzi Aland, was in the driver's seat and she explained most of the enclosures have two gates. That way there's no chance of animals escaping as the first gate has to close before the second gate opens.

The exception is the lions' enclosure which has an extra gate, because, well, these are lions we're talking about.

I got some snaps as we got alongside that shady area where the lions were resting. Then the vehicle did a u-turn so the other side of the bus was closer to the kings of the jungle (or kings of the zoo at least).

It was during the second stop that one of the lions came closer. I got photos then shot a video on my phone of the moment the lion was near the patrol vehicle, as it checked out who had come to visit, before returning to the rest of the pride - which included the cubs.

You can see the pics in the story. Meanwhile I put the video on a social media page I have where it attracted some interest.

"Interesting day at work," I wrote on the video post and copped a reply telling me "that's not work".

They might have a point. But I'm not the only one, as I'm sure the same envy could be said of the zoo's employees.

Thanks for reading and I hope you're enjoying the Easter weekend and making the most of it.

Laurie Bullock

Editor, Daily Liberal