Cara Delevingne shot new campaign at SA wildlife sanctuary where woman was mauled to death by a lion

cara delevingne

Cara Delevingne takes a selfie with a lion. (Screengrab: Instagram/@caradelevingne)

Cape Town – Cara Delevingne has taken part in a new ad campaign for TAG Heuer, that was filmed in South Africa.

The campaign, with the motto ‘Don’t Crack Under Pressure’, sees Cara pose with a male lion – which is her favourite animal – and aims to illustrate how “she dares to take risks and revive” the motto of the campaign.

SEE AN AD PHOTO HERE:

According to TAG Heuer, the campaign was “made possible by the collaboration between David Yarrow, a photographer known for his portraits of wild animals, and the controversial Kevin Richardson, nicknamed the ‘Lion Whisperer’.”

The photo shoot took place in December at Dinokeng Game Reserve – where Kevin has a sanctuary for wild animals, Daily Mail reports. Cara shared multiple photos of her trip to SA on Instagram at the time.

Along with the ad campaign, TAG Heuer released behind-the-scenes photos and footage that show how the shoot took place with Kevin always standing nearby to make sure nothing goes wrong.

SEE BTS VIDEOS AND PHOTOS HERE:

Filming of the ad campaign took place two months before a lion under the care of the ‘Lion Whisperer’ mauled a 22-year-old woman to death in the reserve in February.

According to a Facebook post, shared at the time of the fatal incident, Kevin and an “experienced” colleague took three lions for a walk in the reserve and one chased an impala, eventually encountering the woman at least 2km (1.2 miles) away.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL POST ON FACEBOOK.

Following the death of the woman, Kevin’s “promotion of interacting and walking with lions” was called out being seriously concerning by other conservationists, Traveller24 reported.

Big cat biologist, Luke Dollar, told National Geographic that, “While it may be a thrilling experience for a person to do, and they may think they are helping wildlife by doing so, I don’t see an obvious connection. If we love these cats so much why do we feel the need to touch them or hug them or walk with them, as though that is a natural occurrence?”

WATCH A VIDEO OF THE AD CAMPAIGN SHOOT HERE: