Why do baboons steal lion and leopard kittens? (6 photos)

In real life, lions have nothing to do with the title "king of beasts." The only thing they have in common with monarchs is a huge number of enemies. Even monkeys are smart and brazen enough to annoy big cats. They steal their kittens! One thing is not clear in this story: why do primates risk their skins? Let's find out!





Expectation/reality.

A young lion cub is an almost defenseless animal. Only an evil mother weighing 120-180 kilos protects him from guaranteed death. But she can’t be there all the time; kids are sometimes left to their own devices. At this moment the baboons appear. They are not small animals either - 20-30 kilos of mass and sharp fangs give them enough impudence for dark deeds.



People, get ready, there's work for our gang.

Theft of children is simple, almost everyday. Packs of baboons often hang out in savannas, so they regularly intersect with lions. And if they notice a lonely lion cub, they simply grab it and take it to distant places. No plan, no tricks. In this case, the baby will only die if the mother does not find him and take him away from the primates.





The father mixed up again and took the wrong child to kindergarten. What is this?

But why baboons do this is a debatable question. Presumably in this way they thin out the number of their natural enemies. From the monkeys' point of view, hunting lone cubs is an investment in the future, a long-term investment that allows them to increase the chances of survival of their own offspring. Fewer lions - more baboons.



– Are you stealing our cubs? - We won't do it again! - Well, you definitely won't.

This hypothesis is confirmed by the fact that not only lions are attacked by their offspring. Monkeys also steal kittens from leopards, also avid primate hunters.



This is a still from an English-language video that literally blew up the Internet 3 years ago. In it, tourists noticed how baboons stole two leopard cubs and did not understand at all what to do with them next.

But there is an alternative point of view. Scientists who adhere to it argue that everything is much simpler. This is common predatory behavior. Small monkeys eat insects, large ones sometimes catch rodents, birds and chew carrion. Baboons simply catch kittens as prey. Moreover, not only lions and leopards get it from them, but also the offspring of ungulates, although they don’t seem to eat monkeys. However, due to the high sociality and intelligence of baboons, predatory behavior sometimes fails, and they begin to mistake the cubs either for their own or for a toy.



An unusual exception to the rule was recorded several years ago in the Kruger National Park (South Africa). The thief baboon developed empathy for the victim and was in no hurry to ruin the life of the little kitten. But the good story ended before it really began. The other members of the pack were against such kindness. In the end, both got it.