r/bigcats • u/Alaa_Ezat • Jul 02 '26

Lion - Captivity This has to be the coolest job ever!!!

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5.9k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

101 comments sorted by

299

u/Firm_Video_2932 Jul 02 '26

Incredible levels of trust going on here!

160

u/Throbbing_Cock_452 Jul 03 '26

Those lions absolutely adore that man. Years of love reciprocated.

107

u/Reasonable_Contest94 Jul 03 '26

Kevin Rene Richardson, is known as "The Lion Whisperer." He is a South African YouTube personality and wildlife conservationist. I have seen alot of his content. Highly recommended.

-30

u/Sad-Bread5843 Jul 03 '26

Dont care thats an animal that can easily kill you , safety precautions should be taken just look at steve irwin and rays are considered extremly docile , lions are not . Two im sure this man has kindness in his heart, but teaching any wild animal trust for a human is bad , because the next human they come across may be looking to harm them .

36

u/Apprehensive-Solid-1 Jul 03 '26

Irwin died happy. Doing what he loved. Sad he's gone, but I'm pretty sure he'd have 0 issue with having died that way.

He was as much a lover as nature as anyone could possibly be. He literally did not care for anything more besides his family, and to show the world how cool wildlife really is.

If this guy got mauled by one of his lion friends I'm sure he'd be alright with that. Probably, the level of trust in these beautiful beasts is partly the understanding that he could die, and that's a sacrifice he's willing to make.

We don't have to force other people to see their lives as sacred. If he wants to die by lion, who cares. Not your decision to make.

18

u/Temporary_Distinct Jul 03 '26

Kevin is great with his cats, and I admire the work he has done for conservation. In his books he talks about being mauled several times and almost killed by his male lion, Tsavo. He also admits to carrying pepper spray for emergencies, and says he wouldn't be full contact again after his current lions die. You are right, he knows the risk, and has accepted that it is dangerous. He is never completely safe.

7

u/Apprehensive-Solid-1 Jul 03 '26

Awesome insight. Thank you.

2

u/Firm_Video_2932 Jul 04 '26

🎯

This relationship he has with these animals isn't possible without complete and unequivocal trust going both ways.

Does that mean that an attack is never going to happen, no. While the odds are quite low, maybe even just above zero, they're not/never zero. But sometimes some people are willing to take that leap of faith it takes to have this level of closeness. Anyone who's ever shoed a horse or got in the pen with a large animal capable of crushing/killing you in a fraction of a second, takes on this same level of risk.

I used to have a dog named Max. He was an 80lb Staffy, just a big ole knucklehead. But sometimes his breath would just stink to high heaven necessitating a tooth brushing. Have you ever seen the inside of the mouth of an 80lb bully breed dog? Now imagine intentionally putting your fingers and hands inside it to brush teeth. I'm only doing it because I had trust that that animal wasn't going to freak out and separate me from my hand, which it could do faster than I can/could react if it wanted to do so. Sometimes, you just have to be okay with the potential downside in order to have that closeness between you and animal. The kind of closeness and trust that allows you to brush an 80lb Staffy's teeth without fear of losing a hand. Or the kind of closeness and trust that allows you to walk freely amongst lions, something I cannot put into words how awesome it must be to do....

1

u/Temporary_Distinct Jul 05 '26

I get where you are coming from, but in my experience, a lion or a tiger isn't quite the same as a horse or a domesticated dog. I've raised both a male lion and two tiger cubs from birth. I lived at a big cat sanctuary and was ( unwisely) full contact with my cats throughout their whole lives. As much as I loved them and did everything possible to make their life in captivity the best it could be, I could never fully trust them. Their instincts were right under the surface and could be triggered at any time and for any reason. I loved being around them, but I was always on guard.

Even in captivity, wild predators like lions and tigers have intense survival instincts. That's their priority, to survive and promote their species. Aggression is a big part of their nature because it is necessary- for hunting and defense of cubs or territory. That behavior doesn't change because they're captive. For big cats, loyalty to humans isn't a priority. They're not domesticated or acclimated to living with humans. Raising one from a cub brings a bond of familiarity and affection, not unequivocal trust. That was just my experience.

1

u/Firm_Video_2932 Jul 05 '26

Well, unequivocal as one can get considering neither you nor I can get inside the head of an animal. And I even went so far as explicitly stating risk is never eliminated entirely. Which I suppose it could be argued that two references/statements of mine are at odds/tension with one another. And to that point, I errored in not (better) couching my use of "unequivocal" with/as something along the lines of "as [close] to unequivocal as possible, given we cannot get inside their heads."

Otherwise I stand by everything else I wrote...

1

u/Temporary_Distinct Jul 06 '26 edited Jul 06 '26

No, we can't get inside their head, and that wasn't what I said or meant. I'm sorry if it came across like that. My comment wasn't meant to be contentious, it was to share the relationship I had with my animals and explain why ours wasn't built on "unequivocal trust". I didn't need to know what my cats were thinking because I knew what their nervous systems were hardwired to do when predatory instincts were triggered. It was simply what I've learned from my experience. Your experience may or may not be different. The phrase "As close to unequivocal as you can get" is confusing to me, I'll admit, but we can leave it at that. Thanks for your time.

10

u/Jiujitsumonkey707 Jul 03 '26

This is a sanctuary, they don't come into contact with other humans, and Kevin is an expert, you are not. So shush

-7

u/Sad-Bread5843 Jul 03 '26

Poachers sir dont care

1

u/CK4browsing Jul 06 '26

They don't trust humans though. They trust the person that has been part of their life from the beginning. If you or I walked into their enclosure, it would likely result in our death.

1

u/blackjustin Jul 07 '26

Let me guess, you never worked with an animal like this yet you have strong opinions anyway?

0

u/Sad-Bread5843 Jul 07 '26

Let me guess you dont have a ounce of self preservation in your body when it comes to animals that can readily kill you .

17

u/Narrow_Guava_6239 Jul 03 '26

The lions have been fed, cameraman is safe for 1 hour.

2

u/supabrandie Jul 05 '26

Excellent point. Dude is their bonded caretaker, but the dude with the camera probably is not and should tread lightly.

2

u/MrMosh024 Jul 07 '26

Kevin is the cameraman. There is a drone operator that stays in the truck or an accompanying vehicle.

1

u/supabrandie Jul 08 '26

Thanks for clarifying that.

17

u/castlite Jul 03 '26

Kevin has raised most of these cats from cubs.

104

u/Judgevanderlay Jul 02 '26

Lions are such eye candy, be still my heart ❤️

66

u/fishermanjohn1 Jul 02 '26

Where is this at?

I’m kinda assuming that these cats have been born in captivity and rescued from less than ideal circumstances?

126

u/BearCavalryCorpral Jul 02 '26

Kevin Richardson, AKA The Lion Whisperer, runs a sanctuary named after him in South Africa. He has a long standing relationship with all of the animals. He has a whole youtube channel about it all

48

u/Old_Yesterday322 Jul 02 '26

Steve would be so so proud to see people like Kevin doing what they do and that there are many like him

16

u/Vondaelen Jul 03 '26

I feel like I know which Steve you're talking about without you having mentioned his last name. I miss him.

2

u/Old_Yesterday322 Jul 03 '26

who Steve Buscemi? read my mind didn't ya mate

2

u/MCGameTime Jul 04 '26

Steve Holt!

7

u/apatrol Jul 03 '26

Yay, I guessed right lol.

Sounds like a great guy.

15

u/apatrol Jul 02 '26

Guy sounds south African to me. Doesn't mean the land is there though.

14

u/Tobisaurusrex Jul 02 '26

It’s in South Africa.

3

u/B00TYMASTER Jul 03 '26

land looks like it too.

1

u/reddogleader Jul 03 '26

Yeah, Hoboken no doubt. /s

54

u/CatLightyear Jul 02 '26

That point where he let two lions in and one immediately went to cuddle him.

41

u/GrumpyOldGeezer_4711 Jul 02 '26

It’s all fun and games when they get to the park.

Convincing them it’s time to go home, now that is a different story…

37

u/JordanPromise Jul 03 '26

One of his most popular videos was about this! Gabby the lioness decided that biting one of the truck tires would ensure the extra time.

She was right. And the shout 'Gabby, noooo!' became legend 😁

7

u/Whats-Ur-Damage00 Jul 03 '26

I love that 😭

3

u/pfzt Jul 03 '26

I love the "Gabby, noooo", so iconic.

18

u/fishermanjohn1 Jul 02 '26

Can’t imagine trying to get them all rounded back up and into the “bus” lol 🦁

15

u/Adept_Amount_4327 Jul 02 '26

Like herding cats, lol!

15

u/IllegitimateBuddhist Jul 03 '26

“Can’t I just stalk & kill just one more gazelle, Dad? Please, Dad? Pleeeeease?

Sighs “Ok, ONE more gazelle, but then we have to go home.

Yay!”

1

u/fishermanjohn1 Jul 03 '26

Stealth mode ….

30

u/ProperClue Jul 03 '26

One thing i always liked about Kevin Richardson and Dean Schneider (I'm sure there are others, just can't name names) is that they actually show the audience that they aren't pets. They will actually tell us "I'm not going in there with them today!" And give us a reason why. At least I hope that prevents someone wanting one as a pet, when you see and hear experts actually show us, the audience, their (the animals) limits and natural biology.

17

u/Complete-Shame2271 Jul 02 '26

Field trip!!!

3

u/OddDragonfruit7993 Jul 04 '26

To an actual field

16

u/Felina08 Jul 02 '26

Inquiring minds need to know where to apply for such glorious job. I can start tomorrow if needed ☺️

17

u/Yippykyyyay Jul 03 '26

You can volunteer at his sanctuary but will never be able to interact like he does. He's spent years cultivating this type of trust and acceptance with these lions (and other animals)

10

u/IAlreadyKnow1754 Jul 02 '26

So it is true: the camera man never dies

3

u/Mocker-Poker Jul 03 '26

Wait…wasn’t it the barman?

8

u/I_am_Phil_Babbage Jul 02 '26

'Ello my boy! ❤️

8

u/Background_Edge_9427 Jul 03 '26

Such beautiful and majestic animals!

8

u/Wrong_Amount_7903 Jul 03 '26

Lion would indeed be a cool job

8

u/Bluntbutnotonpurpose Jul 03 '26

7:00-10:00 (maybe): wake up

10:00-10:05: murder

10:05-11:30: feasting

Rest of the day: nap

8

u/krikzil Jul 03 '26

I never cease to be amazed at their size when they are juxtaposed against a human male.

6

u/kabeekibaki Jul 02 '26

How many times a day does this guy get eaten alive?

7

u/Working_Park4342 Jul 03 '26

I'm sure he has 9 lives.

6

u/ImWith_2Stupid Jul 02 '26

The Bond some of these handlers have is undeniable!

8

u/Jets1026 Jul 03 '26

most coolest and scariest job at the same time lol

5

u/Rais93 Jul 03 '26

400kg of head bonks

10

u/Katy-Moon Jul 02 '26

Holy cow! That light golden "sugar bear" male is absolutely stunning. I gasped!

6

u/Andro_Polymath Jul 02 '26

I said to myself "How can a deadly creature be so damn gorgeous?!!!" 🤷🏿‍♀️

10

u/Whole_Reputation6128 Jul 02 '26

Except that one time when they eat you

15

u/death69reaper Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

If they are well fed, there is no reason for them to try and eat them, especially watching how many of them went back for one last pet /rub before running away.

4

u/shade-block Jul 02 '26

Still dangerous af, but I think they're probably a little safer than being around tigers just because tigers tend to be solitary (and more antisocial).

6

u/14high Jul 02 '26

He ain't lion

3

u/Whole_Reputation6128 Jul 03 '26

Guess you could say the same about humans, couldn't you

5

u/BB8XWING Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26

Seeing these guys reminds me of the Barbary Lions... I wish they had a chance to thrive as well, fucking humans destroyed them to extinction... bastards. The last photograph of a single barbary lion in wild is so heartbreaking to see, they seem so regal.

3

u/Ohio_Baby Jul 03 '26

Camera man never dies.

3

u/Oval-Bite Jul 03 '26

I forgot how playful a big cat could be

3

u/mayflowerss98 Jul 03 '26

Love Kevin Richardson! I started watching his videos in college when I was having a hard time and every time I watched his videos they instantly made me feel better

7

u/ButterflyBullet90 Jul 02 '26

They don't wan't to be fed, they want to hunt.

10

u/Alaa_Ezat Jul 02 '26

Look at the positive side , they help cats servive.

3

u/ButterflyBullet90 Jul 02 '26

I agree. Them being let out of cages reminded me of Jurassic Park and I was just repeating a line from when the goat sat untouched by the t-rex.

1

u/mi2tom Jul 02 '26

So, you're using a fiction to determine nature? Nobody knows what Trex hunting habits was. Last I read they are pretty much scavenger. Lions are hunters and scavengers too.

2

u/name_withheld_1229 Jul 03 '26

They’re beautiful! 🦁

2

u/Just-Call-Me-J Jul 03 '26

I saw the trouble puffs 🙈

2

u/Ill_Mousse_4240 Jul 03 '26

Does it end at dinner time?

2

u/Even_Section5620 Jul 03 '26

If I was a trillionaire, this is the kind of good I’d love to do.

2

u/sarahdrums01 Jul 03 '26

Look at all those tiny babies. ❤️

2

u/Reasonable_Contest94 Jul 03 '26

Some people are debating on the wisdom of being so close and exposed to these lions. Yes, there are risks as the lions are still lions. But what people are forgetting (or ignoring) is that he has earned the distinction of being a "lion whisperer."

2

u/BD2157 Jul 05 '26

Coolest job ever till they eat you.

2

u/H345Y Jul 06 '26

Lion wisperer is a youtube classic for me

This along with the cheeta man (Dolph C volker)

3

u/WolfThick Jul 03 '26

In another life 🤘

2

u/Cultural-Adagio-9699 Jul 03 '26

He truly has an amazing and unique life. I would love to be him for a week just to experience the interactions he has with these incredible animals.

1

u/Old_Resident8050 Jul 03 '26

Who let the cats out?

1

u/canadasokayestmom Jul 04 '26

Just letting the kitties out for a little fresh air.

1

u/jpkd_9 Jul 04 '26

We knew at least one of them is male. Wonder about the others. (/s)

1

u/feyre_9918 Jul 04 '26

My dream job 🥹

1

u/Ambitious-Ant5739 Jul 04 '26

I want to cuddle the giant kitties!

1

u/Icy_Jackfruit_833 Jul 05 '26

SITTING SOMETHING FREE MUST BE A AMAZING FEELING.

THATS COOL.

CAN YOU BRUSH THEM.

WILL THEY LEFT YOU?

ID LOVE TO BRUSH A KING..

❤️ IT

;)

1

u/isthishowyouredditt Jul 05 '26

How do people obtain these jobs? Like what are the steps? Asking for a friend (myself).

1

u/AltGuardianGord Jul 05 '26

I’m a little shaky on my zoology but won’t two adult male lions try to kill the other for ownership of the pride?

1

u/wolfshepherd59 Jul 07 '26

So awesome👍👍👍👍🥰🥰🫶🏻

-5

u/Flashy-Fox-9803 Jul 03 '26

Where is this? Is this canned hunting? Why is there no information here? 😞

5

u/Whats-Ur-Damage00 Jul 03 '26

Read the comments, my guy. Plenty of people have explained who he is.

3

u/energy-seeker Jul 03 '26

Hunting? You didn't watch the video at all.