This strange behavior was witnessed and photographed in Tanzania.
In the world of big cats, outsiders are competitors. They will definitely destroy all the young of other species and even other packs, as they may compete directly for food in the future. That’s why when a lion adopts and feeds a baby leopard, it’s just amazing.
This strange behavior has been seen and photographed in Tanzanian Ngorongoro Game Reserve. A lioness found an abandoned baby near her lair and suddenly adopted him.
The lion was followed by KopeLion, a conservation NGO in Tanzania that supports the global wild cat conservation organization Panthera. And the baby she adopted was no more than three weeks old.
That was incredible. While there has been a case where a leopard has adopted members of its own species, this interspecies adoption is completely unprecedented.
“She is physiologically ready to take care of baby cats, and a leopard cub fits the bill,” said Luke Hunter, Panther president and chief conservation officer.
It is believed that the lioness gave birth about a month ago, but her cubs have not been found anywhere. It is not known for sure, but it is quite possible that she lost her baby and found the baby leopard in a state of mourning.
As for the leopard, he was about the same age as the cubs, and indeed very similar physically. Maybe her maternal instinct, combined with her state of mind, prompted her to take care of it.
After all, it is unlikely that the cub will grow up and behave like a lion.
Even with early exposure to a new society, she cannot erase the millions of instincts ingrained in the leopard to become a lone hunter.
The leopard was born to be a lone predator at the top of the food chain, so she’s likely to go her own way.
