Wild animals are just that: wild. They are unpredictable and can pose serious dangers to humans. When you factor in a top predatory species such as the African Lion, someone would pretty much need to be crazy to get into a cage with such an animal.
But we just found an adorable video on YouTube that shows an animal trainer who is reunited with a lion that he helped rehabilitate after it was rescued from dire circumstances. You are going to love watching man and beast romp around and play with each other, but seriously though, do not try this at home with anything larger than a housecat.
The reunion between animal worker Adolpho and his former charge, Kiara the lion, has set the internet on fire. It has be viewed more than 1.8 million times, received more than eighteen thousand likes, and more than two thousand comments.
People have been saying all kinds of things such as:
“this is what I imagine heaven will be like. there will be animals like this that won’t hurt people.”- Kent Peterson
“a lion just gave s man a full on hug BE HAPPY AND SMILE.”- Amar ab
“Aw look at them, they’re just … lioning around.”- Nayem Rahman
“omg this lion is so cute”- Honk! Honk!
“the lion is not hurting him. he is being affectionate. when my cat is playing with me he like to bite me but there’s no pain. he bite me without force. this lion could easily use his paw and kill the man and when he’s biting his hand, there’s no blood. the lion is just being affectionate and playful.”- MrsCat owner
“For those who do not know: animals here have been rescued from cruel circumstances like circuses, breeding facilities (Both legal and illegal) and from people that have them as pets, providing them with a home, the best food and medical care available, and a life of dignity and Love for the rest of their lives.. The Black Jaguar White Tiger Foundation provides them with the best lifestyle possible.”- Descubra tu Mundo
“That lion is clearly not giving that guy a hug, it’s testing his strength before it goes for the kill. Its clearly been trained that there will be consequences for attacking a human but is conflicted with its own predatory nature. Sooner or later that guy will get mauled and it’s the lion that will suffer when it gets euthanized for attacking a human being. Disgusting behaviour, lions are not pets and their human contact should be limited to the bare minimum to allow them to live a natural happy life.”- Wildeheart 79
“He’s just playing with his food.”- anon.
“I want someone to adopt me now so I can hug them like this.”- GetatMe
“You can tell from the beginning that the lion is showing affection. That was a happy greeting. Those of you claiming humans are anthropomorphising the lion are only making your lack of knowledge about lions known. Based on the initial interaction you can see that they have interacted before, and that the lion considers the man a pack member and was happy to see him. Lions bite each other playfully all the time.
Time and time again we’re proved wrong about animals being mindless instinct driven robots, yet people still overlook the fact that they’re a little more complex.”- Hugh Mungus
