Cliffhanger! Lion cub saved by mum
in dramatic scenes caught on camera as he cries out pitifully for
help
Clinging on for dear life to
the side of a vertical cliff, the tiny lion cub cries out pitifully
for help.
His mother arrives at the edge
of the precipice with three other lionesses and a male. The females
start to clamber down together but turn back daunted by the sheer
drop.
Eventually one single factor
determines which of them will risk her life to save the youngster –
motherly love.
The drama begins: The
mother arrives at the edge of the cliff as her son cries out for
rescue after being trapped when he slipped
On the brink: Four
lionesses look over the edge before aborting their rescue mission
because of the sheer drop
Slowly, agonisingly, the big
cat edges her way down towards her terrified son, using her
powerful claws to grip the crumbling cliff side.
One slip from her and both
animals could end up dead at the bottom of the ravine.
Just as the exhausted cub
seems about to fall, his mother circles beneath him and he is
snatched up in her jaws.
She then begins the equally
perilous journey back to the top. Minutes later, they arrive and
she gives the frightened creature a consoling lick on the
head.
The dramatic rescue, captured
by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot, was played out in
Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve.
Despite the presence of
wardens to deter poachers, day-to-day life for the lions is not
without its dangers … as the cub learned the hard way.
Rescue mission: The mother inches her way down
the cliff face to rescue the terrified cub before locking him in
her jaws and making her way back up the cliff
face
Motherly love: The mother gives her son a lick
to say that all is well in the pride following the
drama
