Lions, of course, are cruel animals and require careful handling, and the prudent thing to simply stay away from them. But this still does not mean that they are cold and insensitive.
And the story of the 70-year-old zookeeper Frikki von Solms who is a vivid proof of this. Frikki lives in South Africa and has been close friends with the lion Zion for eleven years — incredibly gentle and affectionate.
The lioness Simba gave birth to Zion in the zoo, but the baby was quickly taken away, since the father himself could take his life. And the lion cub grew up under the care of Frikka not at all as a predator, but as a pampered creature.The man, before visiting his unusual pet, takes off his shoes, as the noise of shoes can disturb Zion.
Frikki shares that caring for a lion is an unusual experience, especially since he grew up in front of him from infancy and he had the opportunity to notice changes in his appearance and character, and he also grew up with him and learned a lot of new things.
He assures that people somehow generalize lions, but each of them has its own character, sense of humor and other distinctive features. So, Zion is very pampered. He never attacks anyone and you can completely trust him.
But whose genes he got is questionable, since his dad is a very aggressive lion and was not even attached to his offspring. Frikki and Sion have been friends for 11 years and are not going to leave.
