It’s not just humans who are sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟɪɴɢ with the burden of unexpected extra childcare at the moment, as these remarkable photographs show.
Singa, an African lion, found his pack of five u.nruly cubs were more than a handful – or should that be pawful? – when mum was away.
Despite his best efforts, his parenting skills seem to be lacking a lot. So the task of taking care of the cubs at the Pakawi Park Zoo in Belgium is an impossible task while their mother, JJ, is undergoing medical treatment.
Singa, an African lion living in Pakawi Park Zoo in Belgium, sᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇᴅ to look after his five cubs while mum was in the hospital recovering from an ɪɴᴊᴜʀʏ caused by another lioness.
Singa tried to lift the cubs to carry them to a safer place the way their mother would but did not know how to do it properly making them cry every time he came near them. Although the children are very naughty and disobedient, the father Singa is very gentle and gentle with the children.
Wildlife photographer Linda Smit explained: “The mother was ᴀᴛᴛᴀᴄᴋᴇᴅ by another lioness. She had severe ɪɴᴊᴜʀɪᴇs and had to be separated from her cubs for a few weeks to ʜᴇᴀʟ. So dad had to take care of them.”
“He was trying to lift them, like the mother would do, to carry them to what he probably thought was a safer place. But as a male, he didn’t have the skills or experience to properly lift them.”
“Although he was very gentle with the cubs, they screamed every time he came near and tried to move them. He was very tolerant with them, but he did get a bit g.rumpy when they were biting his tail.”
The cubs were clearly delighted when their mother, JJ was restored to ʜᴇᴀʟth by zoo vets and returned to their enclosure, as the final picture shows.
