In short: a group of monkeys cheered when Mirko Popovic and his brother managed to catch a Boa snake at a safari in Africa.

The funny but completely fictional story earned Popovic the title of the best liar at the 28th annual lying competition organised on Saturday in Omarska, a small town in Bosnia’s northwest.

“Everything is true, including that I have a brother there and that I visited him. Except I am not a hunter,” he said, explaining that “these are not lies, but funny stories which are meant to cheer up us and our guests.”

The ‘Lazijada’ competition is traditionally organised by the ‘Srndac’ hunters association in Omarska. The event was this year attended by numerous hunting enthusiasts from all across Republika Srpska (RS), the Serb-majority part of the country, as well as from Serbia and Slovenia.

Popovic’s story was one of the nine that were told at the event, and he explained that it is not only the story itself that earns the title but also the way it is presented.

“This is a beautiful tradition for hunters to gather, hang out, sing together and take a break from their daily obligations,” he explained.

The Lazijada is one of the most well-known hunter’s gatherings in the RS, vice-president of the Hunter’s Union of Republika Srpska, Predrag Ljubicic, said.

“This is for nearly three decades already a unique opportunity for us to gather in such a large number, hang out together and enjoy, laugh together and host our colleague hunters from elsewhere,” Ljubicic said.