Watched Nat Geo Wild's Big Cat Odessey. Touched by a part of the film where the researchers observe a young leopard killed a baboon and dragged it up to the trees. At the foot of the tree, something dropped out when he was dragging the baboon - a tiny one day old baboon baby.
The researchers expected the hungry leopard to eat the baby but to their surprise, it didn't and even protected it, taking it to higher grounds when another smaller predator tried to get close. It nursed the baby roughly but tenderly. It had a very motherly feel even though it was not a mother itself yet. It used it's nose to touch the baby baboon, stay close to keep it warm and protected. Even though the baby will eventually die without it's mother's milk and care, the love of the leopard towards it's natural prey seem to be a love on a higher level than the love it will show towards it's own young.
Big Cats in Africa are under danger of extinction. This is due to human's fear of them and thus the mass persecution, and the killing of these cats for their skin to show off power and beauty. From 50k, the population dropped to 20k. The lesser number of hunters made it difficult for them to hunt preys like buffalos and elephants. Strangely, this leads to competition and killings within a pride of lions. Sisters lionesses are killing each other's cubs and this pride lost 96 cubs since records due to this killings. The pride was destroyed, the lions no longer the strong hunters as they were before. Lioness eat their own cubs after they were killed. A natural instinct to survive, I guess. A very cruel truth for the mother lioness.
It is tough to be a predator in the wilderness. You've got to work hard to earn your meal, and each hunt is difficult. You've only got your body to work for you and each hunt is putting your life at risk. My heart goes out to the predators as much as to the preys. Nobody wants to be cruel, only for survival.
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