Daily Mail
Botswana-A Connecticut photographer has captured a thrilling encounter between a baby baboon and a 350lb lioness in a game park in Botswana.
The incredible pictures show the moment the baboon’s mother is killed, leaving the baby face-to-face with the roaring predator.
But instead of swallowing the tiny creature, a tender moment ensues where the baby baboon attempts to suckle the lioness and the big cat gently plays along.
However, in the fascinating display caught on camera, the little one is finally plucked to safety by his brave father.
Pro golfer-turned golf course photographer Evan Schiller took the spectacular shots in November while he and his wife Lisa Holzwarth were on a game drive in northern Botswana’s Selinda Camp.
Holzwarth later wrote about the experience - the highlight of their trip - in a post on her blog, The LEO Chronicles.
She explains how the big cat enthusiasts were watching a leopard when they noticed it becoming anxious.
That’s when a big troop of baboons - a staunch enemy of the leopard - came bounding through the bush making a racket.
‘Then the baboons started screaming - again, we had no idea the reason, but from their elevated position in the trees they had a much better vantage point to take in the overall surroundings,’ Holzwarth wrote.
She said it quickly became clear what the problem was: two large lionesses had emerged from the tall grass and rushed at the baboons. They were soon joined by two more lionesses.