Cliffhanger - For Wildlife lovers

Clinging on for dear life to the
side of a vertical cliff, the tiny lion cub cries out
pitifully for help.

His mother arrives at the edge of
the precipice with three other lionesses and a male. The
females start to clamber down together but turn back
daunted by the sheer drop.

Eventually one single factor
determines which of them will risk her life to save the
youngster – motherly love.

The drama begins: The mother arrives at the edge of
the cliff as her son cries out for rescue after being
trapped when he slipped

On the brink: Four lionesses look over the edge
before aborting their rescue mission because of the sheer
drop

Slowly, agonisingly, the big cat
edges her way down towards her terrified son, using her
powerful claws to grip the crumbling cliff side.

One slip from her and both
animals could end up dead at the bottom of the
ravine.

Just as the exhausted cub seems
about to fall, his mother circles beneath him and he is
snatched up in her jaws.

She then begins the equally
perilous journey back to the top. Minutes later, they
arrive and she gives the frightened creature a consoling
lick on the head.

The dramatic rescue, captured by
wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot, was played out
in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve.

Despite the presence of wardens
to deter poachers, day-to-day life for the lions is not
without its dangers … as the cub learned the hard
way.

Rescue mission: The mother inches her way down the
cliff face to rescue the terrified cub before locking him
in her jaws and making her way back up the cliff
face

Motherly love: The mother gives her son a lick to say
that all is well in the pride following the
drama