Dafna Ben Nun didn’t go to Zimbabwe looking for this.
She traveled from Israel to get a close look at the wildlife of southern Africa, camera in hand, without any special expectations. But in the middle of the savanna, a baboon took its baby in its hands and lifted it above its head, exactly as Rafiki lifts Simba in The Lion King. It lasted only an instant. Dafna managed to take the photo before the scene dissolved into the rest of the group.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw an adult baboon holding a baby that looked exactly like Simba”, said the 38-year-old photographer. All the animals belonged to the same group, so no one was in danger. It was pure maternal instinct, captured by chance, thirty years after that same image made half the world cry in movie theaters.
