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, agonizingly, 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.
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