Mom to the rescue!
Wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot captured dramatic scenes of a lioness saving her cub who had slipped and found itself trapped against a vertical cliff in Kenya’s Masai Mara Game Reserve in 2011.
Sounds a bit like the Lion King doesn’t it?
Holding on for dear life, the lion cub cries out for help. His mother hears him and arrives at the edge of the cliff with three other lionesses and a male.
The lionesses try to save him, but are put off by the sheer drop of the cliff and turn back.
However, one deciding factor saves the lion cub’s life – the power of motherly love. See how the story unfolded below.
The lioness arrives at the cliff’s edge after hearing her cub’s cry for help
The lionesses attempt to climb down the cliff to reach the trapped lion cub, but are put off by its sheer drop
One lioness – the cub’s mother – risks falling down the cliff herself as she climbs down to grab her terrified cub in the knick of time
The lioness locks her cub safely in her jaws as they make their way back up the cliff
The lioness consolingly licks her cub to show him that everything is fine
After avoiding a major scare, the lioness and her cub can safely return to the lion pride and hopefully avoid any more slip ups!
Author: Antoinette van Heerden
Published: 26 June 2014
Last Update: 30 January 2024