The beautiful moment was witnessed and filmed by Ebenezer Rhode, a guide at the game reserve.
Watch The Sighting:
Cub wide awake while Dad sleeps
Ebenezer explains he had set out with his guests in search of the resident lion pride. “Unfortunately, with all the rain the bush is very dense and they were not able to see the entire pride. However, the dominant male of the pride was sleeping right next to the road, so he was easily visible.”
Get our Best Sightings as they Come in
Get our Best Sightings as they Come in
The large male lion showed no intention of waking up any time soon. He lay sprawled out on the grass, enjoying some shut-eye. This might’ve been disappointing for the guests had it not been for a tiny cub which soon appeared on the scene. The little guy held the spectators’ attention.
While the cub’s father was fast asleep, the small animal was wide awake and ready for an adventure. Today, his father happened to be that adventure!
No animal would dare sneak up on a sleeping male lion. No animal, of course, except the lion’s cub. This was Dad after all.
The cub was quite nimble-footed as it approached the big lion. This was Mission Impossible and he demonstrated all the tenacity and strategy of a stalking lion.
His father was oblivious to the cub’s stalking game. That is of course until the cub got a little too close.
Father lion wakes up with a jolt
It was perhaps a slight of the paw which caused his father’s head to shoot up. The male lion was now fully awake.
Knowing he had been caught, the cub sneaked around the back of his father. However, his father was not fooled.
He quickly spotted the cub and the cub came out of the shadows behind him.
In a poignant moment, he came up to his dad, and climbed on top of him, making the large lion his resting place.
Perhaps the large lion had had in mind to growl as a result of having being so rudely woken up. However, the cub’s cute antics must’ve softened his heart as he remained quite calm.
Even though his deep sleep had been broken, he remained gentle with his cub. The cub lay down on him and in a picturesque moment, the bond between father lion and cub was evident.
Cub climbs on Dad demonstrating strong bond
The cub no doubt knew which strings to pull to placate Dad. Perhaps next time he played hunter-prey with his sleeping Dad he would have to be more careful not to wake the prey up.
For now, he enjoyed the sense of security being with his father gave him and it was a beautiful thing to watch.
This epic sighting will no doubt be remembered by Ebenezer for years to come: The way the large male lion had slept on his back without a care in the world, the cub’s careful stalking of his father and the cub’s humorous response to the lion waking up. Then, the most precious moment of all… the cub placating Dad by curling up on his back.
