Baboon steals, grooms lion cub in South Africa national park
Friday, February 7, 2020 IST
A rare happening was captured on camera at the Kruger National Park in South Africa, when a male baboon was seen carrying a lion cub.
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After taking him to the branches of a tree, the baboon groomed the cub as if it was his own.
The scene was captured by safari operator Kurt Schultz who later posted the video on Instagram on Saturday.
At first, Schultz thought it was a female baboon which was pampering its baby. After a closer look, he realized that it was a male baboon grooming a male lion cub. Interestingly, the baboon groomed the lion cub with care and love.
“The male baboon gave a grooming to the lion cub just like how a female baboon would do to a baboon baby,” Schultz said as quoted from Newsweek on Monday.
"In 20 years of guiding southern and east Africa, and being in the Kruger for close on 20 years, I have witnessed baboons viciously killing leopard cubs and have heard of baboons killing lion cubs but have never seen the care and attention given to a lion cub in this manner," he said.
In the video, the cub appeared exhausted but not injured, while there could be possibilities of internal injuries.
"I don't see a chance of this poor cub surviving. The troop of baboons was large and a lion would not be able to get the young back. Nature is cruel and survival of young predator cubs is not easy,” Schultz said.
Despite his concerns for the cub’s survival under the care of his unnatural mother, he said it was important not to intervene.
"Nature has its own ways. We cannot get involved,” he said. (gis/wng)
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