Hockey Night in Canada — with an African lion

Don't try this at home.

Sterk the lion is getting plenty of attention today, thanks to some great photos of the impressive beast playing ice hockey.

In the photos, one-and-a-half-year-old Sterk, a resident of the Oaklawn Farm Zoo in Aylesford, Nova Scotia, challenges his keeper, Maria Weinberg, to a friendly game of shinny.

"It just happened that the pond that’s in their acre enclosure [was frozen] and he liked going on the ice, so Maria though she’d just for fun take down a hockey stick," said Gail Rogerson, who owns the zoo with her husband Ron.

The photos, first posted on Facebook, show Sterk and Weinberg facing off on the ice, with Sterk's massive paw serving as his hockey stick.

"Good sportsmanship is the name of the game! No matter who has scored the most goals everyone leaves the ice as friends. With the equivalent of the end of game handshake, Sterk, the African Lion, and Maria share a quiet hug and 'good game' pat," the zoo posted on Facebook earlier this week.

Rogerson told Canada.com that Sterk, who was born in Ontario, has adjusted well to Canadian winters.

"It's like any cat, you know how cats will adjust to whatever," said Rogerson. "Lions have been bred in captivity for generations. Any lions that are in zoos have been born, well any Canadian lions, have been accustomed to the climate."

Apparently he's also learned to love the national pastime.