Mothers

The lioness grabbed a female baboon on the run. But there was something else there… As the baboon lay dying in the jaws of the lioness, a little baby (less than a month old) slowly disengaged from its mother’s body. 

Instinct took over and the baby tried to make a go for a tree, but did not have the strength to climb. At this point the lioness noticed the “little guy” and went over to investigate.

 Instead of snapping the baby up in a deadly movement, she started to play with the baboon. 

 The lioness was inquisitive and gentle at the same time. 

 After a while she picked up the baboon softly in her mouth and walked away, then settled down with the baby between her paws. 

In a strange behavioural twist, the baboon started to try and suckle the lioness. 

The lioness got distracted—this time by two male lions who arrived on the scene. Their advances, however, were met with aggression by the lioness. Was she defending the baby baboon? 

 The father baboon had to make a move. Holding the baby, in all sorts of contorted positions, he tried numerous times to climb down the tree. He tested the lionesses’ interest with each descent. 

Fonte: National Geographic

Photograph by Evan Schiller