Frikkie Von Solms, a 69-year-old wild cat keeper from southern Africa, knows this perfectly: He has spent the last 11 years raising Zion, a gentle, tender and loving African lion.
Zion is a gentle and affectionate African lion who was 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐧 in captivity but was separated when his father threatened his life. He, therefore, needed someone to be there for him, like a father figure, and this is where Von Solms stepped in.
Growing up with Von Solms, Zion has become a little softie and when Von Solms goes for a walk with him, he takes off his shoes because his noise bothers the big cat.
“It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience growing up with him and learning and living with him through all the stages of being a male lion,” Von Solms said.
“People talk about lions as if they were African cats, but they have personality, humor and laughter. Zion is a gentle pet lion. “He has never attacked humans and I trust him completely.”
This is not the first time a lion and a human have become friends.
In 1969, Australians John Rendall and Anthony Bourke purchased a lion cub Christian from Harrods, raised him, and released him into the wild in Kenya.
Two years later, they went to Kenya, where they saw him again and he recognized them and treated them affectionately, wrapping his front paws around their shoulders and petting their faces.
