Behind you! Little girl gets fright of her life when lion sneaks up behind her at zoo

It is not every day that you come face to face with a real lion, but that is exactly what happened to a little girl posing for a picture in a zoo.
The adorable, blonde girl in a pink bandana was standing in front of the lions' enclosure and waiting for her parent to take a picture when one of the animals decided to photo-bomb her.
A brief video of the incident captured in what appears to be a French zoo shows the girl turning around after being alerted by an adult, only to discover the curious female cat staring directly at her.
Scroll down for video

Photo-bombed: A little girl was posing for a picture in a European zoo when a lion sneaked up behind her

Close encounter: The little girl turned around after being alerted by her parent and discovered the lion intently staring her in the face from behind the glass

Running scared: The little girl in a pin bandana scampered away with a nervous smile on her rosy-cheeked face

The girl lets out a startled shriek before skipping away, with the feline still looking at her from behind the glass with intent.
The rosy-cheeked child, who appears to be seven or eight years old, was not harmed in any way and walked away from the wild encounter with a smile on her face.
The lion, on the other hand, looked vaguely disappointed.     

Crestfallen: The lioness appeared vaguely disappointed after his young visitors ran away

Gloating: the girl's young friend mocked the lioness who let her 'prey' get away

The girl's parent who posted the video, set to ominous music worthy of Jaws, wrote in the description: ‘hungry lion? he seems to be very interested by my little girl... fortunately, there's a glass wall.’
Other commenters observed that the large cat seemed more curious ‘in a friendly way’ than hungry for human flesh.
WATCH VIDEO HERE: