Lions have been feeding a relative trapped in a trap for three years

Lions have been feeding a relative trapped in a trap for three years

Categories: Africa | Animals

In Tanzania, a pride of lions took care of a young brother for three years, who was slowly dying because of metal rods that had bound his neck since childhood.

A touching story happened in a family of lions living in the Mikumi National Park in Tanzania. Wild animals behaved better towards their relatives in trouble than some people sometimes behave. Pride spent three years nursing his brother, chained in a metal "collar".

Lions have been feeding a relative trapped in a trap for three years

Lions have been feeding a relative trapped in a trap for three years

The lion was trapped by poachers in a nature reserve in Zambia. (Photo: dailymail.co.uk )

Tourists first noticed the wounded lion back in 2009: the animal's neck was squeezed by a garrote made of iron rods, into which the young lion fell as a cub, trapped by poachers.

— Hunters set traps for small animals, such as the impala antelope. Most likely, the curious lion cub stuck his head in there and broke free with a wire loop around his neck," said William Mwakilema, senior keeper of the reserve.

Over time, the young king of beasts became a real hostage of his shackles. Every year the wire dug deeper into the lion's neck, condemning him to a long and painful death from suffocation.

— After the first signal that our pet was in trouble, we made attempts to track him down and free him. But the territory of our reserve is too large, and the temper of these animals is very cautious," says Mvakilema. — So the lion survived only thanks to the care of his relatives.

Lions have been feeding a relative trapped in a trap for three years

According to the employees of the reserve, they were all struck by the behavior of wild animals. The brothers and sisters of the wounded animal supported him by bringing him food from hunting.

"They didn't kill him, as they usually do with weak males. On the contrary, the lions did not let him die all this time, while people were powerless to help," the caretaker added.

Together, rangers and tourists were able to track down the dying lion only in August 2012. Veterinarians were immediately called to the place, who put the sufferer to sleep for a while to help him.

— It was a very dangerous procedure. Five of our patient's brothers were protecting their relative, so we had to drive them away in jeeps. As a result, we managed to remove the bars from his neck. The damage was so deep that if we hadn't intervened, it would soon have been too late," William Mwakilema said.

After treating the wounds, the people left Leo to recover in the circle of his devoted family. A few months after the rescue operation, the recent prisoner of the poaching garrote was again noticed in the vastness of the reserve.

According to the keepers of the reserve, the lion has almost completely recovered, a mane has finally begun to grow on his neck and head, and only deep scars now remind of terrible wounds.

Lions have been feeding a relative trapped in a trap for three years

The rescued lion was reunited with his family.

Lions have been feeding a relative trapped in a trap for three years

Here was such a rod.

Keywords: Lions | Rescue | Predatory cats

Post News Article

Recent articles

Why do sea mines need "horns" and is it dangerous to touch them
Why do sea mines need "horns" and is it dangerous to touch them

To disable a warship, tens and sometimes hundreds of kilograms of explosives are needed. And for several centuries, a sea mine has ...

Italian artist turns celebrities into cartoon characters
Italian artist turns celebrities into cartoon characters

Drawing someone's portrait is not an easy task, but how about drawing it in several different styles? Italian artist Rino Russo ...

22 abandoned places where people have been recently
22 abandoned places where people have been recently

Modern "abandoned buildings" have nothing to do with the ruins of antiquity, which archaeologists cherish so much. Despite the ...

Related articles

25 great photos of lions from the famous predator photographer Simon Needham
25 great photos of lions from the famous predator ...

Simon Needham is a Los Angeles-based photographer whose passion for travel turned into a commitment to conservation work after he ...

The story of the brave Katherine Sloterback, who killed 140 rattlesnakes and made a dress out of them
The story of the brave Katherine Sloterback, who killed 140 ...

We know many stories when a person, forced to protect himself and his loved ones, did incredible things. But among all of them, ...

"Dancing plague" of the middle Ages — a deadly epidemic, the nature of which is still debated
"Dancing plague" of the middle Ages — a deadly epidemic, ...

Among the many different epidemics, vukasinovich the population of Europe for the last thousand years, "the dancing plague" can be ...