I will happily put my neck on the line and say that The Lion King is the greatest Disney movie ever created.
Firstly, the movie features probably the greatest soundtrack of any Disney film, with songs like 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King' and 'Be Prepared' featuring prominently on my workout playlist.
Secondly, the characters are superb and wonderfully written. The flamboyant Scar is without a doubt the greatest Disney villain to grace the big screen, and Timon and Pumbaa are wonderful comic relief. Also, James Earl Jones as the voice of the wise Mufasa emotes pure regality.
Related - Safaris may be spectacular, but they can also be dangerous. Check out this tour's close call with a lion:And thirdly, the story of two brothers battling to be king is wonderfully Shakespearean and perfectly executed.
Yes, The Lion King is a movie I'm sure many of us have watched time and time again, and there is perhaps no scene more iconic than the opening sequence, depicting Simba's coronation. We all know the one; all the animals from the savanna bow their heads as Rafiki the primate lifts Simba up atop Pride Rock.
Well, now a baboon living in the Kruger National Park in northeastern South Africa has gone viral after unintenionally recreating that very shot.
The incredible images were shared to Facebook on the official Kurt Safari page, along with the caption: "Male baboon steals a Lion cub In the Kruger national park, then grooms and carry’s and cares for the cub as if it was a young Baboon".
However, despite several comments pointing out the likeness to the Disney movie, Kurt Safari Company officials took to the comments section to reveal that the lion cub would probably not survive after being taken.
The company posted in the comments section: "After over and Hour the Baboons moved further in, i was unable to stay longer , However the Lion cub seemed quite dehydrated and tired, in the past i have seen Baboons killing Leopard cubs, so i presume the cub would not survive the day, either due to other Baboons fighting for the cub or just the strength of the baboon moving around with the cub or the heat of the day. I will try get more information from people that went in that direction after i left [sic]."
The company official then reveals how it may be unpleasant to watch unfold, human interaction with the wildlife at the park is frowned upon, and that it is often best to let nature take its course - no matter how cruel.
They wrote: "As much as we realize it might be hard to watch and might be cruel, Human interaction with wildlife in the Kruger national park or most wildlife reserved globally is not something that happens unless it is caused by Humans, in this case nature was acting normally and the strongest and fittest survive, Lions growing up pose a threat to Baboons when older. Kurt safari or our guides are not permitted to intervene, any park ranger would not intervene is such a situation as what was happening was totally natural, we shared this as it was something not normally seen or captured on camera. [sic]"
In a follow-up post earlier today (February 4), the Kurt Safari company said their guides has been searching for the cub for three days, but to no avail.
"3 Days have past and Kurt Safari guides and other operators guides have all been looking in the region where the sighting of the baboon stealing the lion cub took place. Unfortunately there is no news. Although baboons have been seen in the same area they did not have a lion cub with them. No lion cub of this young age could survive without milk for this period of time. Nature is sometimes cruel and we as guides and Park rangers would not intervene, as nature needs to take its course, regardless of the outcome or how we as nature lovers might feel, thank you Kurt Safari."
That is the circle of life...
