Baboon Spotted Carrying A Lion Cub Just Like From ‘The Lion King’, But Unfortunately, The Reality Is Not As Happy
It was just another day for Safari guide Kurt Schultz. He was photographing lions in South Africa’s Kruger National Park on Saturday and everything seemed pretty much normal. However, as he was snapping away, Schultz noticed something reminiscent of the legendary movie The Lion King. A baboon was carrying a small lion cub up a marula tree.
Sadly, Schultz couldn’t enjoy the re-enactment of the Disney classic. He feared the primate could drop the little critter. Or even worse, ‘viciously kill’ the poor animal. He has repeatedly witnessed cubs fall victim to groups of baboons.
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Image credits: Kurt Schultz
“I went to an area very active with lion sightings recently and came upon a troop of baboons really
excited and playful this is normal for early mornings,” Schultz told Bored Panda. “There was another vehicle at the baboon sighting and it was mentioned there’s possibly a lion cub amongst the baboon troop.”
“After waiting for a long period we noticed the one baboon that first seemed to be a female carrying a lion cub I thought was dead. This area has large granite hills and boulders on it and is known for lions and leopards hiding their newborn cubs in this region and amongst the koppies in the past.”
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
“The young baboon crossed the road and climbed up a marula tree. I waited for about 30 minutes before it came into view and was moving from tree to tree, the rest of the troop then moved away and the baboon was grooming and caring for the lion cub as if this was a young baboon,” he explained.
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
“The baboon was grooming the little lion cub as if it was a baby baboon… The males do a lot of grooming but the care given… was the same care given by a female to one of her own young.”
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
“In 20 years of guiding southern and east Africa, I have witnessed baboons viciously killing leopard cubs and have heard of baboons killing lion cubs. But I have never seen the care and attention given to a lion cub in this manner.”
Schultz doesn’t see a chance of this poor cub surviving. Mainly because the baboons were large and a lion would not be able to get the young back. “Nature is cruel at most times and the survival of young predator cubs is not easy,” he said. “The lion cubs pose a threat to the baboons when they get older.”
The guide thinks this will remain one of his most interesting sightings. And even though Schultz cares for the little lion and wishes it to grow up and live a free life, he also knows that nature has its own ways. “We cannot get involved and we need to keep Kruger simple and wild, these were the wishes of Stevenson Hamilton.”
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Schultz was fast enough to catch the surprising moment on camera. And even though the photographs look like they’re portraying a cute bond between the two animals, Schultz believes the situation most likely didn’t end well for the cub.
The guide eventually moved on to allow tourists to get a look at the scene, and later the primates took the cub away with them.
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Image credits: Kurt Schultz
Here’s what people said about the interesting situation
120Kviews
Share on FacebookWhen is it that humans are allowed to intervene, if not in these cases?
Maybe you need to read the article again. In a nature reserve humans are not allowed to interfere in any way with what takes place. Animals die in the wild. That's the way it works.
Load More Replies...Let us never over-romanticize nature. It is filled with poisonous, plants, animals, microbes and a large portion of animals kill their own kind and eat other animals to survive. Glorious sunsets do not minimize cheetahs ripping apart baby gazelles.
I am sure glad this is not my job, I would fail at it badly. I understand leaving things to nature, that is the best but seeing this and not helping the baby would break me, I'm just not tough enough to do that.
Poor puppy, I would have hoped that they would save him. In my opinion, the question of not interacting with nature is sometimes ridiculous: human beings interact a lot and often create problems. In a case like this, the little lion could have been saved instead of being left to die slowly.
While well aware of the struggles that wild animals face continuously,24 hours,7 days a week,their entire lives-- seems like people would have attempted to rescue,aid this little lion cub kitten. After all the horrific reports of lion farms in Africa,rampant poaching of lions,habitat encroachments concerning these and other creatures,etc,maybe a bit of good karma in trying to aid some of these animals in the future.
Sadly, the vast majority of arrogant humans think that they have a licence only to plunder, destroy, torture, and murder.
Load More Replies...It is a protected wildlife sanctuary that was previously a hunting ground that became over-hunted. As much as all of us want to save the cub, the only rule of the sanctuary is no more human intervention. Saving one species has a trickle effect that can alter the course of other species in a way that we may not understand since we all are not experts in this field. Do some research on this place, it was interesting when I read more about it.
bryguy, I would like to understand this more that anything else; to me it's not interesting as it's immensely cruel. But why? Why aren't predators like vultures?
Load More Replies...Poor baby cub! But what was cute was the monkey petting the baby cub! How sweet but sad
I think common sense and empathy should allowed in these "lets not intervene with nature" -situations. For example, actions such as petting a cute wild animal or taking a selfie with them is indeed bad interfering and pointless, but helping a hurt or suffering animal should be allowed. The nature/universe doesn't care or have any rules/norms we must follow, we can set the rules. There is no "bad karma" coming for us if we help wild animals in needs. Btw, we've already messed up the whole Earth ecosystem and causing mass-extinction of animals and ourselves, so I'm pretty sure helping few animals is not the problem we need to worry.
It may be a shock to the naive vegans among us, but most primates, especially baboons and chimps, are omnivorous, and do kill and eat other animals. It's usually monkeys that they hunt and eat, but a big cat cub, antelope fawn, or whatever will also satisfy their meat cravings. While Nature is "red in tooth and claw", nonhuman animals kill to survive. Homo sapiens, on the other hand, is the most wanton killer in the animal kingdom.
Annie Laurie Burke, it is shock to ingenious, compassionate vegans among you, that human beings act in much more wanton cruelty than any predator on earth; animals certainly do not kill for pleasure. P.S. nature does not discriminate; why do you think humans kill each other? "As long as man will continue to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will NEVER know HEALTH or PEACE. For as long as men massacre animals they WILL kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love. - Pythagoras
Load More Replies...Although I know that this won't end well, does this remind anyone of the Erin Hunter "Bravelands" series?
For the Baboon to adopt that lion cub, it must have recently lost its own. It happened in Kenya severally when a lioness lost its cub and it adopted baby oryx.
They should have intervened. Not right that baby cub lost its life once again to humans.
That’s not what happened, the cub did not die because of humans. With your logic, if I was being killed by a bear, the cat watching should save me.
Load More Replies...Sometimes you have to have nature go on its own way
Load More Replies...What a "great" cruel idea, Spooder! Primates share way over 90 % of DNA with humans, and sure are much less r******d (as you put it) than some humans.
Load More Replies...When is it that humans are allowed to intervene, if not in these cases?
Maybe you need to read the article again. In a nature reserve humans are not allowed to interfere in any way with what takes place. Animals die in the wild. That's the way it works.
Load More Replies...Let us never over-romanticize nature. It is filled with poisonous, plants, animals, microbes and a large portion of animals kill their own kind and eat other animals to survive. Glorious sunsets do not minimize cheetahs ripping apart baby gazelles.
I am sure glad this is not my job, I would fail at it badly. I understand leaving things to nature, that is the best but seeing this and not helping the baby would break me, I'm just not tough enough to do that.
Poor puppy, I would have hoped that they would save him. In my opinion, the question of not interacting with nature is sometimes ridiculous: human beings interact a lot and often create problems. In a case like this, the little lion could have been saved instead of being left to die slowly.
While well aware of the struggles that wild animals face continuously,24 hours,7 days a week,their entire lives-- seems like people would have attempted to rescue,aid this little lion cub kitten. After all the horrific reports of lion farms in Africa,rampant poaching of lions,habitat encroachments concerning these and other creatures,etc,maybe a bit of good karma in trying to aid some of these animals in the future.
Sadly, the vast majority of arrogant humans think that they have a licence only to plunder, destroy, torture, and murder.
Load More Replies...It is a protected wildlife sanctuary that was previously a hunting ground that became over-hunted. As much as all of us want to save the cub, the only rule of the sanctuary is no more human intervention. Saving one species has a trickle effect that can alter the course of other species in a way that we may not understand since we all are not experts in this field. Do some research on this place, it was interesting when I read more about it.
bryguy, I would like to understand this more that anything else; to me it's not interesting as it's immensely cruel. But why? Why aren't predators like vultures?
Load More Replies...Poor baby cub! But what was cute was the monkey petting the baby cub! How sweet but sad
I think common sense and empathy should allowed in these "lets not intervene with nature" -situations. For example, actions such as petting a cute wild animal or taking a selfie with them is indeed bad interfering and pointless, but helping a hurt or suffering animal should be allowed. The nature/universe doesn't care or have any rules/norms we must follow, we can set the rules. There is no "bad karma" coming for us if we help wild animals in needs. Btw, we've already messed up the whole Earth ecosystem and causing mass-extinction of animals and ourselves, so I'm pretty sure helping few animals is not the problem we need to worry.
It may be a shock to the naive vegans among us, but most primates, especially baboons and chimps, are omnivorous, and do kill and eat other animals. It's usually monkeys that they hunt and eat, but a big cat cub, antelope fawn, or whatever will also satisfy their meat cravings. While Nature is "red in tooth and claw", nonhuman animals kill to survive. Homo sapiens, on the other hand, is the most wanton killer in the animal kingdom.
Annie Laurie Burke, it is shock to ingenious, compassionate vegans among you, that human beings act in much more wanton cruelty than any predator on earth; animals certainly do not kill for pleasure. P.S. nature does not discriminate; why do you think humans kill each other? "As long as man will continue to be the ruthless destroyer of lower living beings, he will NEVER know HEALTH or PEACE. For as long as men massacre animals they WILL kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love. - Pythagoras
Load More Replies...Although I know that this won't end well, does this remind anyone of the Erin Hunter "Bravelands" series?
For the Baboon to adopt that lion cub, it must have recently lost its own. It happened in Kenya severally when a lioness lost its cub and it adopted baby oryx.
They should have intervened. Not right that baby cub lost its life once again to humans.
That’s not what happened, the cub did not die because of humans. With your logic, if I was being killed by a bear, the cat watching should save me.
Load More Replies...Sometimes you have to have nature go on its own way
Load More Replies...What a "great" cruel idea, Spooder! Primates share way over 90 % of DNA with humans, and sure are much less r******d (as you put it) than some humans.
Load More Replies...
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