Itโs common sense that you shouldnโt harass a wild animal. But one violinist decided to go in the opposite direction when he serenaded an enclosure full of lions at the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Gardens.
Kyle Dillingham was performing for couples on a date when his music attracted the attention of the lions.
One lioness approached the glass to watch him, eventually starting to paw the glass. As Dillingham began to sing in addition to playing, she pawed more frantically, clearly wanting to leap through the glass toward him. She even hissed at one point, looking like a housecat.
But thereโs no way a housecat could get through a glass window.
The lioness, on the other hand, looked like she was willing to give it a shot.
As Dillingham continued to play, she even tried to bite his bow through the glass. She was so engrossed, she chased him up and down the hall. Dillingham was safe with the glass in place, but if it was gone for even a moment, thereโs no doubt the aggravated lioness would pounce.
To the casual viewer, it might seem like Dillingham is taunting her.
But the violinist said that the lioness was excited, not aggravated. He also said the experience was one he will always treasure.
โThere are certain moments in life that you experience in such a personal way that you canโt imagine the impact that it might have on others,โ Dillingham wrote on Facebook. The lions were not there when I arrived. Then suddenly with the sound of my music, they came barreling over the hillโฆand so I responded to this lioness musicallyโฆuntil suddenly we were dancing and playing, and then even laying down togetherโฆit was really quite a special moment for us all.โ
But the magical experience didnโt stop when Dillingham packed up his violin.
He said the lions loved the music so much, they silently begged for more even as he was heading toward the exit.
โAs I was trying to leave, I noticed that they were following me to the north side of the exhibit,โ he said. โI had stopped playing at this point, but they looked at me as if they hoped for just one more little morsel of musicโฆso I turned back around, and sang one last song, giving them everything that I had in me.โ
Dillingham is a member of the band Kyle Dillingham & Horseshoe Road.
Heโs also performed at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville as well as for the king of Malaysia and many U.S. and Asian government officials. However, this is his first time playing for lions.
It might seem that Dillingham was just messing around with an aggravated lioness, but the violinist said that the moment went much deeper.
For him, it was an emotional experience that made him realize that music can even transcend the divide between species. He only hopes it was just as fulfilling for the lioness herself.
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