FATHER LION TENDERLY CARES FOR HIS CUB WHO LOST HIS MOTHER

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Touching images show the unique bond between a lion cub and his father

Khari the cub's mother died in zoo when he was just seven months old

Wallace, his dad, took youngster under his wing and cares for him

In captivity male lions tend to keep their distance from one another but in the wild such father-son relationships are far more common 

Continue reading and see more lovely images of dad and son

It is a touching image of the bond between a lion cub and its father.

 

But what makes it all the more special is that little Khari lost his mother on Christmas Eve when he was just seven months old, resulting in what experts say is a unique bond between the pair.

 

Keepers at Blackpool Zoo have watched with delight as his father, Wallace, began playing with the youngster by day and cuddling up to him by night.

 

Now father and cub have completed their transition into a family unit by starting to spend mealtimes together.

 

Zoo keeper and expert on captive lions James Welch said: ‘Within the UK, male lion coalitions are not very common, but a father-son coalition is one of a kind and can only be seen at Blackpool.

‘Two male lions living with one another is a completely natural scenario and is exactly how they would spend their adolescent years before they are mature enough to take over a pride of their own.

 

‘Khari is slightly different being in this situation at such a young age - he is just one step ahead!’

 

Blackpool lion keeper Lauren Ogden added: ‘Wallace isn’t a first time father and has always been fantastic with cubs in the past, so we were confident that he would take to his role as a single father very well.

 

‘It is wonderful to see them playing together during the day and snuggling up at night time, and despite all the upheaval at such a young age Khari is growing up to be a very confident young male.’ 

 

Source

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3566939/Tender-touch-reveals-father-s-bond-lion-cub-lost-mother.html

 

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