Time and time again, we have seen instances where humans and animals having the greatest friendships, even though those creatures are the toughest wild animals. Whatever said and done, there is one man who did it. With his love for lions, he was welcomed into the pride, and he was given the name Lion Whisperer. Kevin Richardson has been close to the king of the wild nearly all his life, so as to better understand them and protect the species, living with them, to learn their habits and just to see how unpredictable they can be.
Several years ago, Kevin was a part of the Lion Park team in South Africa, where he came to understand just how hard life in the wilderness is. There was an instance where a lioness rejected her 2 newborn cubs, and Kevin who saw this, intervened and took up looking after the helpless cubs.
He took the cubs to a sanctuary near Johannesburg where they were very comfortable and got all the help they needed, and Kevin even went on to name the lionesses Amy and Meg. Over the years Meg and Amy became two fearless predators. Kevin is the founder of this sanctuary, and says; “Through education, outreach and funding, wildlife can be saved.
Our mission is to bring awareness to the rapid decline of large carnivores in Africa due to habitat loss, human-predator conflict or pouching.” Time has proved that Kevin’s dreams have come true. The best proof is that seven years later, the cubs saved by Kevin are now fully grown adults.
Many years after bringing them to the sanctuary, Kevin pays the lionesses he rescued a visit. As he wasn’t sure whether they’ll remember him, he was very nervous. However, he was proved to be so wrong. As it seems, wild animals never forget someone who has helped them. And neither did Meg and Amy. With his GoPro, Kevin recorded the meeting, and the result is so heartwarming.
Kevin, Amy and Meg share a special and incredible bond, which is built on respect and love, and there is no other reward than seeing the majestic felines happy. In an interview, the Lion Whisperer says; “Meg and Amy are kind of my soul mates. It is kind of like humans, you can meet many, many people in your life.
But there are very few that you connect whole heartedly with. “To see the lions doing what lions do for me was exhilarating. It made me realize there was a different way to work with these predators in captivity. Meg and Amy and me have a history that goes to when they were born,” he said.
