The tourism industry can often be brutal when it involves animals. Taking pictures with lions and tigers is always a big moneymaker but it often comes at the cost of the well being of the animals. A recently surfaced story shows just how rough it can be on the animals, especially when they are little.
One lion cub was taken from his mother to be used as a photo-op.
This sad story starts off with a little lion that was taken from his mother when he was only a few months old. The cub was taken away to be used as a tourist attraction for travelers to use for a photoshoot. The horrible people who stole him had abused the lion to keep him from running away.
The people broke the cub’s legs and his spine just to ensure it was dependent on them.
The horrible brutality of these people culminated in them maiming the cub to make sure it would never run away. Thankfully, the story didn’t end there. The cub was found by rescuers who took him to try and save him.
It was close to death and had lived a horrible life.
The lion had been placed in a barn and chained up to take pictures with people. He was regularly tortured and beaten into submission with injuries all over his body. For a creature that is meant to live on open plains as an apex predator, this was no way to exist.
The story reached so far that even Vladimir Putin heard about it.
The story moved so many people that when Vladimir Putin heard about the cub, he ordered a criminal investigation into the matter! Now that’s called karma! The people who did this deserve to be prosecuted. The story of the lion didn’t end with his rescue, though.
After surgery and care, the little lion was over the hump. Its life was no longer in immediate danger.
Naming the cub Simba, the story picked up steam when it hit the internet. The horrible nature of the event caused people to want to help the lion as their hearts were moved. The rescuer is named Karen Dallakyan and is a Russian vet. Karen has a lifetime of experience helping animals who are on the brink of death. He has saved tigers, snakes, birds, and pretty much everything else.
With the help of people like Karen, Simba is on his way to recovery.
Learning to play with new toys was huge in the lion’s recovery. Slowly, Simba’s spirit returned and the little lion learned how to trust his rescuers and other humans. It took some time, but the tortured creature was happy again.
After a year of care and treatment, Simba is almost totally recovered.
There are animals all across the world who are experiencing this kind of cruelty every day. Thankfully, there are people who go out of their way to help them. While it didn’t change the world to save Simba, it changed Simba’s world.
Check out some more photos below of Simba and his recovery!
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
