Lions are friendly

Uncle Petey · 5 Sep 2018 at 18:21

It also looks like a young one. Probably hand reared and very used to people.

Lokken86 · 5 Sep 2018 at 18:26

So do they give the tourists a heads up first "oh btw the lions jump into the carriages and climb all over you".

Baron C · 5 Sep 2018 at 18:44

Heh, I could take on a house cat and win. Double it's size I'm dead.

Skunkworks · 5 Sep 2018 at 18:50

Malevolence said:

Behaves just like a domestic cat! I'd guess its weight at around 75kg, so I could easily pick it up, slam it, and choke it out, so safe as a pet.

wolfie138 · 5 Sep 2018 at 19:10

mmj_uk said:
Lions are very social animals, if you can condition a Lion to believe that you're a member of its pride it probably won't eat you for dinner unlike a lot of other predators.

*probably*. as in, you *probably* wouldn't want to take the chance?

Purgatory · 5 Sep 2018 at 22:26

Everyone that has Netflix should watch this about lions (Saving Sirga: journey into the heart of a lion), an amazing inside view of a lioness saved when young.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80100845

After watching then come back and report back what you think you know about lions

. Amazing is all I have to say.

Yes I don't agree to what is being done in the original post as anyone that keeps any animal, knows they have their moments. Only adults that go to the place that agree to it should do it they are adults and can decide if the risks are worth it. I personally would love to do it but only with the keepers of the animals there too. Anyone under 18 should not be allowed unless the parents are there and agree to the risks. There is always a risk with everything but sometimes it is worth it if the risks are minimal.

Most people have a stereotype about certain animals, without truly understanding them. Big cats, reptiles etc etc are all man eaters ... The truth is very different, check the reptile thread on here.. I keep snakes and they are not what most people think they are, they are actually an amazing pet in the right hands.

Watch the Saving Sirga: journey into the heart of a lion https://www.netflix.com/title/80100845 , if you love wildlife you will be amazed at what you see during the episodes, do not skip episodes and watch them fully.

Rroff · 5 Sep 2018 at 22:34

TheOracle said:
for anyone in this predicament, I think the advice is to lay still on the floor. Running only makes them chase you like prey, and I'm sure they can run a lot faster than we can.

The predicament is - big cats don't tend to pounce when you face them - so you got to run away while looking at them... and hope there isn't more than one. (IIRC that is basically their hunting technique - one distracts/chases you while the other(s) move around until you have your back to one of them).

The Running Man · 5 Sep 2018 at 22:44

Rroff said:
The predicament is - big cats don't tend to pounce when you face them - so you got to run away while looking at them... and hope there isn't more than one. (IIRC that is basically their hunting technique - one distracts/chases you while the other(s) move around until you have your back to one of them).

"Clever girl" style?

Angilion · 5 Sep 2018 at 23:53

wolfie138 said:
if it's black, fight back. if it's brown, lay down. it it's white...goodnight.

There's a town way up north in which it's a legal requirement to be heavily armed. The reason is polar bears. If you have anything less than a powerful rifle, it's not enough. Apparently a warning shot will almost always cause the bear to go away.

bjorkiii said:
If its a zebra what do you do?

Die, probably. Zebras are aggressive and can easily kill you. They look like horses, but they're really very different. If they weren't, our ancestors would have been riding them long ago.

mmj_uk said:
Lions are very social animals, if you can condition a Lion to believe that you're a member of its pride it probably won't eat you for dinner unlike a lot of other predators.

Yes...but it's a tall order. There's a chap who has a lion sanctuary in South Africa and is accepted as a member of the pride by the lions there, but it's a slow process and very much an individual one. He's often asked what would happen if he took another person in with him. He's quite sure that the lions would attack them, even if they were with him. They accept him to such an extent he can lie down and sleep with them, dozing in the shade in a puddle of lions...but only him.

DXP55 said:
Trust me - you do not want to be bitten or clawed by a domestic cat - it hurts - never mind a lion

I think it would only hurt if the lion was playing or challenging. If they were seriously attacking, I think it would be an instakill.

spoffle · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:00

I'm not convinced there's a huge difference in temperament between domesticated cats and large wild cats, I think it's just that domesticated cats haven't got the size or equipment to do any real damage when they get a bit too rough.

Safetytrousers · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:04

Angilion said:
They look like horses, but they're really very different. If they weren't, our ancestors would have been riding them long ago.

They obviously are different to horses, but no so different that they can't breed with a horse to make a zorse.

Zefan · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:26

spoffle said:
I'm not convinced there's a huge difference in temperament between domesticated cats and large wild cats, I think it's just that domesticated cats haven't got the size or equipment to do any real damage when they get a bit too rough.

I think you might be surprised, there's even a difference between the "big cats". Cheetahs display very different behaviour to the other big cats, for example. So much so in fact, that they aren't really regarded as big cats

there are significant physical differences which play a part of that, but the behavioural difference is pronounced.

Doogles · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:28

Safetytrousers said:
Cats can have funny turns. A domestic cat having one won't kill you, a lion having one easily could.
Also sometimes if you touch a cat somewhere it doesn't like or expect it may claw you away, you don't want to be clawed by a lion.

Just put your safety trousers on

brendy · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:40

Doogles said:
Just put your safety trousers on

The brown ones?

Angilion · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:43

Safetytrousers said:
They obviously are different to horses, but no so different that they can't breed with a horse to make a zorse.

Physically similar, mentally extremely different. For example, zebras don't have a hierarchical social structure. You can be head "horse". You can't be head "zebra" because there isn't one. You might be able to tame a zebra (good luck with that - it will probably bite or kick you instead), but you can't domesticate them.

Chris Wilson · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:46

Uncle Petey said:
It also looks like a young one. Probably hand reared and very used to people.

Exactly, not far off a cub and very well socialised. at the moment... My wife was like that, boy how they can change..

Chris Wilson · 6 Sep 2018 at 00:54

Zefan said:
I think you might be surprised, there's even a difference between the "big cats". Cheetahs display very different behaviour to the other big cats, for example. So much so in fact, that they aren't really regarded as big cats there are significant physical differences which play a part of that, but the behavioural difference is pronounced.

I breed and am fascinated by the Anatolian Karabash dog, and they work in cheetah conservation. Historically the cheetah has been the easiest large cat to make fairly reliably sociable with mankind. It was quite commonplace for the wealthy socialites in the twenties and thirties to have a cheetah on a lead in public and I have never found any tales (tails?) of a serious incident. Paris was the favoured haunt of cheetahs on golden chains, oft seen outside trendy restaurants.

spoffle · 6 Sep 2018 at 01:16

Zefan said:
I think you might be surprised, there's even a difference between the "big cats". Cheetahs display very different behaviour to the other big cats, for example. So much so in fact, that they aren't really regarded as big cats there are significant physical differences which play a part of that, but the behavioural difference is pronounced.

I think that's nature versus nurture thing. As feral cars can be quite aggressive and violent compared to house cats, and big cats raised in captivity can end up similar to house cats.

Skorpion · 6 Sep 2018 at 05:28

Lions are not friendly.