This story was shared by photographer Evan Schiller. He was on a tour of Botswana with his wife. One day they saw lionesses hunting baboons.
They felt sorry for the primates, but they didn’t interfere. And it would not have been safe, because lions are not called the kings of animals for nothing. They are the kings of the jungle and can take out anyone.
One lioness caught a primate, and he became her prey. A baby lion clung desperately to the hair of a dead baboon. He was frightened and confused. It was a natural reaction. Any other animal in its place would not have known what to do in such a situation either. After a while he realized that he had to run away from here. But the lioness had other plans. She was not going to let the baby baboon go.
When a large cat weighing 150 kilograms took the small animal in its mouth, the Schillers were sure that it would eat it. The lioness could have swallowed the baboon whole. The baby was on an instinctive level looking for a nipple. And the lioness ended up playing with the baby for about two hours. She found this activity amusing, but it was obvious that the baboon did not want to play with the predator.
Fortunately, then the lioness’ attention was drawn to the lion. Then it was mating season, and the lioness had no time for the baboon’s cub. Then another lioness came. At that time the cub was picked up by another baboon. It turned out that he had been watching the animals for a long time and was looking for the right moment to save the baboon. The primates quickly fled. The photographer did not observe similar situations again. He hopes that that baby is okay. The primates could help him adapt to an independent life.