Lioness Kills Baboon, Finds A Baby Clinging To Her Kill, Does Something Unbelievable

A lioness that killed a baboon got more than she bargained for after a baby baboon slipped out from beneath its dead mother. National Geographic featured the amazing story earlier this year. Evan Schiller and his wife Lisa Holzwarth were in northern Botswana photographing large cats. A fury broke out when a troop of baboons crossed paths with two lionesses. “Between the baboons shrieking and the lionesses communicating with deep guttural roars, it was a mad scene,” Lisa recalled.

The couple watched as the mother baboon was killed by a lioness, then watched in nervous anticipation when they saw the baby baboon emerge from beneath its mother.

“The baby was showing signs of physical harm and fatigue from the whole ordeal. The lioness picked the baby up in her mouth— I was in agony watching the baby’s ordeal—and I kept on turning off the video option on my camera because it was hard to record.”

Almost unbelievably, the lionesses did not kill the infant baboon. Instead, one lioness carefully took the baby into her mouth and snuggled the small mammal. Then, amazingly, she placed the baby baboon between her front legs and guarded it, as the baby baboon even attempted to nuzzle the lioness, Lisa explained:

“The baby was jumping up and down screaming and hitting the lioness on her nose. The lioness was gently knocking the baby off the trunk of the tree every time it seemed to make a little bit of progress in its vertical attempt of escape. Finally the lioness carried the baby in its mouth (really at that moment she could have swallowed it whole without a blink of an eye) and put it down on the ground in front of her. What happened next blew our minds – the baby, in another instinctual moment, held onto the lioness’ chest and tries to suckle… Evan’s pictures say it all.”

Then, when male lions approached, the two lionesses attacked the males. While the lionesses were in a tussle with a male lion, the baboon’s father daringly raced down and snatched his baby, carrying it to the safety of a tree. The public, including media sites such as Viral Nova, believe that the lionesses were protecting the baby baboon. Lisa believes the big cats were simply more curious about the baby baboon than they were of eating it. She also believes the males were interested in mating more than they were interested in eating anything at all. We may never know. It wouldn’t be the first time a feline nurtured an animal that would normally be its prey though.

“No matter what, the young baboon remains an inspiration to me — and a reminder, that life is fragile and no matter how much we fight to control its outcome, all we can do is live in the moment,” Lisa said.

When Evan and Lisa left, the baby baboon was in a shade tree, alive, snuggled with its father, recovering from the extraordinary encounter with the lionesses.

[Photos by Evan Schiller]