Man introduces his 13-week-old baby to the lions that he helped raise, they recognize her as his "cub" immediately, approaching her with calmness and care: 'Seeing how gentle and respectful they were with her truly touched my heart.'

Big cats, in some ways, are the same as house cats. A house cat won't bond with just any human, but the ones that they do bond with - the humans that they choose - they will be bonded with for a lifetime. Big cats are the same. If they choose you, if they think that you are worthy of their company, you will be amazed at how much love they can actually show. We've seen that a bunch of times already. We have seen men reunite with lions that they have helped raise, and those lions recognizing them, missing them. We have seen cheetahs forming cuddle puddles with guards that they have bonded with. We have seen caracals gently nag their humans while they are working, just like house cats do. 

There is one thing we have always wondered about though. These unique humans, the ones who get to have such special bonds with big cats… are these bonds transferable? If we walked into the lion's den with Dean Schneider, who is so, so comfortable with his lions, could he convince the lions to be nice to us too? Probably not, right? But what about his own baby? What are the odds that the lions would recognize her as a "cub" - as a part of the pride?