Panther stalks man at zoo before pouncing, and there's no glass to protect him

Look out behind you!

The heartstopping moment a panther stalked a man at an animal sanctuary and then pounced on him has been caught on camera. But thankfully, all is not as it seems.

The shocking footage shows the panther eyeing the man, who has his back turned to the animal, for several seconds before it gets low to the ground and creeps up to him.

Then, it pounces on him, but the man spins around and backs out of the way. And then comes the twist - the man playfully shoves the panther before kissing it several times. The animal seems to quite enjoy it.

It then retreats on goes to lie down on the grass.

The footage was uploaded to Facebook by The Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation, which specialises in rescuing and caring for big cats in Mexico. The video has been viewed more than nine million times.

It comes after footage emerged of the heart-stopping moment a lion tried to pounce on a young boy at a zoo in Chiba, Japan. The fierce animal jumped at the boy when he turned his back. But thankfully there was glass separating the two.

The recent incidents are far from the only nerve-racking scenes caught on camera at zoos or animal sanctuaries. Who could forget this video showing a hungry lioness trying to devour a live meal - in the form of toddler Trent Higley?

The moment was captured on video by the one-year-old's father, Ryan, during a family visit to Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, US, in April, and posted on YouTube.

Trent attracted the attention of the lioness, Angie, almost immediately, Mr Higley said.
"I'll assume that some kind of hunting instinct kicked in seeing such an obviously unsteady and easy meal", Mr Higley told news.com.au.