A lioness who lost her cubs sheltered a small antelope (6 photos)

A lioness from an African reserve, who was deprived of her cubs by a male invader, sheltered a small jumping antelope. The photographer filming the scene initially thought that the lioness was simply playing with the victim - but then he saw how she protected the cub from the attacks of other members of the pack. And touching shots of an unusual couple melt hearts.

A lioness living in Etosha National Park in Namibia suffered a tragedy: a lion who captured the pride and drove away the previous male killed her cubs. And when a springbok calf (an African species of antelope) fell into her paws, the grieving female sheltered him and embraced him.

The lioness nursing her small (and what must have been very frightened) cub was captured by 53-year-old professional photographer Gordon Donovan, who spent two weeks in Africa in December 2017.

The New York photographer said that at first he expected the lioness to kill the defenseless animal when she got tired of the game. But unexpectedly for him, the female began to demonstrate behavior more similar to caring for the offspring than to a cruel game with future dinner.

"The sight was strange, but fascinating. I am fascinated by lions, and when the female caught the foal, I froze in anticipation that she was about to kill him."

"But that didn't happen. Instead, she started washing him. Nature has a mysterious quality: you never know what to expect next."

For some time, maternal instincts took precedence over the behavior of the predator. I wonder how the foster child felt?

"Then she took it upon herself to protect her adopted cub from other lions. Moments like these are why I come to Africa."

In total, the photographer watched the scene for two hours, and all this time the lioness refused to let go of the cub. What happened next to the little antelope is not known for sure. But I really want to hope that the foal did not become a hearty lunch for the foster mother.