Lions are one of the fiercest and deadliest animals on the entire planet. They are also one of the scariest (if not the scariest) types of carnivore mammal animals that’s why they’re called the “king of the jungle”. These big cats prey on animals that are even twice their size.
You wouldn’t want to go near any of them, even a kilometer away is not a safe distance from these wild animals. They are agile and only a few animals can outrun them, thus making humans no match to their speed.
But if you think humans and lions can’t be near lions, let alone be friends with them – you better think again.
Lions can also be a man’s best friend.
When we talk about friendship between humans and animals, dogs will be first and lions would probably be on the last of the list, or even not on the list all, wouldn’t you agree? But this lion begs to disagree. She will prove to us all that humans can also trust them despite their “reputation”.
This video shows an incredible human-lion relationship. If you are looking for a wild but not so wild encounter, then you are in for a treat.
His name is Oleg Zubkov.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_anhcuppMf/
He is the fearlessly amazing guy in the video. He is a businessman and the owner of Yalta Zoo. He’s also the founder of “Taigan” safari park that is located in the center of the Crimean peninsula.
The Taigan safari park takes care of lions, tigers, and other wild animals. It gives visitors a “walk in the park” feeling but with wild animals around you.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0YPMmaCDsD/
In the video, Oleg will show you that he is not just a mere businessman or just the safari park’s founder. He gives his 100% dedication to what he does and the relationship that he’s able to build between the lions is simply amazing.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0YKED2iMnW/
Actually, Oleg is not the only person who’s made friends with lions.
Frikkie Von Solns is a senior animal caretaker, he took care of a lion named Zion since birth. For over a decade of being the lion’s carer, it’s no surprise the two developed an incredible type of relationship.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8co8ARw2BU
They became the best of friends, in fact, they formed a father-son relationship. Who could’ve possibly thought that a fierce predator can be so gentle to a human? It looks like even lions can show gratitude to anyone who takes care of them, right?
Oleg meets Choli’s newborns.
Choli is a lioness on the safari park and they learned that she’s given birth to some cubs. As Oleg tries to open the cage, Choli immediately rushes towards him, it looks like she misses him so much. However, Oleg still does a bit of a temperature check, remember what the famous song says, “only fools rush in”?
That’s what he is trying to do, he’s making sure the lioness is calm so he pets Choli first before going inside the cage. It’s always better to be cautious at all times, especially around lions.
It’s now cuddle time with the lioness.
It’s probably Oleg’s way of gaining her trust, he gives Choli a couple of massage on her back. He also checks if there’s milk coming out from her breast and the mama lion doesn’t mind a bit. And look, even the tigers on the other cage are jealous – they want some cuddles too!
Then after the quick massage, Oleg marches to Choli’s humble home where she keeps her newborns. The protective new mama wouldn’t want to bring her kids out so Oleg does it for her. He goes inside and comes back out with two cubs on both his hands.
At first, Choli’s body language and facial expression do not seem impressed with what Oleg did. But hey, come to think of it, the cubs also need sunlight to dry them up and to nurture their young skin. After all, Oleg sure means no harm in bringing them out.
Choli eventually brings her cubs back to their humble home. She probably doesn’t like the idea of exposing her kids in the open, it simply shows her protective side. Though we don’t know if she wants to scold Oleg for taking them out like she wants to tell him, “Why did you bring my kids out?”
It’s really so mesmerizing to witness such a beautiful relationship between humans and animals. It simply proves that a person can be emotionally bonded with wild animals, a lion at that.
Make sure to watch the video below to see this incredible human-animal relationship.
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