Rafiki and Simba? Adult baboon 'steals' lion cub in Kruger National Park

Rafiki and Simba? Adult baboon 'steals' lion cub in Kruger National Park

A baboon stole a lion cub from its pride while foraging for food, before taking it into a tree to groom it.

Kurt Schultz
Kurt Schultz/ Kurt Safari Co.

A baboon stole a lion cub - and the video has since been doing the rounds on social media. 

The video footage was recorded by Kurt Schultz in the Kruger National Park, South Africa.

In the video, the adult baboon can be seen sitting in a tree as the sun shines through the leaves. 

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It tucks the cub under its arm to leap between branches before sitting down to comb through its fur with its fingers, which is where the video ends.

Kurt Schultz, who filmed the moment, joined Breakfast with Martin Bester to share more.

"I've never seen a baboon grooming a lion cub. At first, I thought the lion cub was dead, but after a while, I realised the lion cub was alive," Schultz says.

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"I am not sure where the lion cub is now. I've been watching them for a while, but I had to move on.

"This moment was so strange - I am not sure what the intention was for stealing the lion cub?"

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