Vet adopts baby lion rejected by its mother

Emin Mert Kırarslan-ISTANBUL

A veterinarian has adopted a newborn lion as its mother rejected it at birth and bottle-fed the cub for 45 days in his house.

Working as a veterinarian at a zoo in Istanbul’s Tuzla district, Yücel Yılmaz adopted an endangered white lion when its mother rejected it after birth.

Yılmaz took care of the lion, whose mother did not nurse it, for 45 days with his wife and children.

The veterinarian stated he looked after the white lion, which they named “Angel,” as if it were his own child.

“Due to the genetic structure of this species, their birth and reproduction might be challenging. When Angel was born, its mother did not care at all. The mother even tried to crush it,” Yılmaz expressed.

“At that time, I brought it home. We looked after it with my wife and children. I fed it food, took it to the toilet, and put it to sleep on my lap. I brought her back to the zoo 45 days later.”

“It is one-and-a-half years old now, but the lion still considers itself a baby. He jumps onto me to play games,” Yılmaz stated.

Stating that the white lion species faces the threat of extinction, Yılmaz underlined that the species should be protected.

“They are very valuable as they are few in number. There are 133 white lions in the world currently, and we have six of them. The white lion is a rare species and may behave more ferociously than other lions,” Yılmaz said.

“Animals have strong memories, so they never forget those who do them a favor. Angel and I will always be friends,” he added.