Kurt Schultz unknowingly chose the perfect day to visit Kruger National Park in Hazyview, Mpumalanga, South Africa. The photographer and tour guide decided to take some photos inside Kurt Safari when he came across something he had never seen in his 20 years of experience in the wild: a baboon crossing the road with a lion cub in its arms.
The rest of the troop followed uneasily to see what it was about. Understandably so, considering that baboons usually kill leopard and lion cubs as soon as they find them to reduce attacks by these predators in the future. But the baboon did not let anyone approach the cub. In fact, it climbed a marula tree and began caressing it as if it were its own child.
Schultz waited for an hour, documenting every movement, before leaving for his 9 a.m. meeting. The cub looked weak and dehydrated because, despite being protected, it needed the care of its biological mother to stay alive. To this day, no one knows what became of it.
The incident shocked many people; however, despite the unconditional love conveyed by this image, others believe that the baboon may have used the cub for its own benefit, since these animals often use babies to reduce attacks from other males or, in reproductive situations, to attract the attention of other females.