A touching story about an amazing friendship

We all have a best friend, the one to whom we turn for advice, communication and other vital "little things". But this lion lover from South Africa has a very unusual best friend. For 11 years now, Frikki von Solms has been raising and raising his friend, a lion named Zion. He took him in for upbringing after his mother abandoned the lion cub. Zion was born in captivity, and Frikki, fearing that the cub's father might harm him (and this is not uncommon in prides), took him under his care.

(10 photos in total)

1. Well, who wouldn't want to cuddle such a cute lion cub like this?

2. Now Zion is already big, and Frikki describes him as a "gentle giant".

3. Frikki believes that he was lucky — he was lucky enough to see all the stages of Zion's growing up.

4. Without a typically aggressive upbringing, Zion proves that not all lions are the same.

5. Frikki claims that each of them has its own unique features.

6. "They have personality, a sense of humor, and even laughter."

7. These two like to walk for a long time, and during such walks, Frikki holds Zion by the tail.

8. In general, Zion is such a sensitive nature that Frikki has to walk barefoot so as not to disturb him.

9. Zion has never attacked a person, Frikki trusts him 100%.

10. Besides Zion, Frikki has raised quite a few other big cats, but these two are definitely best friends.