Photographer Catches Moment Lion Adopts Baby Antelope In South African Park On Camera

Nov 27, 2019

Wildlife photographer Graeme Mitchley, from South Africa, caught an amazing moment on camera when a lioness adopted an orphaned baby antelope.

According to Graeme, there had been a lot of lions in that area of the park in 2016. It was popular because the lions would wait until other animals came to drink during the drought. But that day there weren't any animals around, not even lions.

Graeme told his wife he'd like to know where they had all gone. Then, a lioness came out of nowhere. It looked like it carried something in its mouth. Graeme soon realized that it wasn't actually a lioness. Instead, it was a young male lion carrying a newborn antelope.

Graeme told the Daily Mail he lost the visual when the lion carried the antelope into the riverbed, but he could still hear the antelope bleating. Graeme was not sure what happened to the newborn's mother, but it was likely that she had simply wandered off grazing.

The lion also went into the riverbed because it was likely that there were plenty of other animals, like white-backed vultures, who also might have wanted to eat the baby antelope.

What do you think of this lion's compassion? Tell us what you think of this video in the comments and pass it on to your fellow animal lovers to brighten their day!