Playing with Lions!

This week we have been busy helping with a medical training program called Helping Babies Breathe.  We stopped at a game park so the American Nurses who had come to do the training could see some Lions.  It turns out it is a large farm turned game park and the family has taken in Lion cubs to raise over the years.  They have 12 Lions, some very large adult lions in large penned areas.  Two cubs they were raising live in a room in their home.  Here is the picture story of our day.

Right next to the house is an enclosure with two lions almost fully grown.   Their names were Tara and Toga and they were huge!  The fence did not seem like enough between us and them!

Wandering around in the pen Toga really looked like the King.

We were able to go right in to play with the cubs.  Bruce was brave enough to sit in the chair near the toy.

It was hard to keep this big kitty from biting.  He got Bruce by the arm but luckily didn't bite hard.

Kind of like playing with a bobcat.  Sharp claws!

Big teeth all muscle, even at 4 months this cub can be rough.

The owner can put her hands in his mouth and he doesn't bite hard although she gets scratched and bitten sometimes.

What happens to some lions.

Baby has big paws about the size of a man's hand.  Below is a video Tara and Toga, raised in captivity, the owner can go in their cage and not be harmed.   They are still carnovores and we are food....not too hard to remember when you are near a lion!