Paul felt shocked as he looked at the strange scene in front of him. Just inches away, he was caught by the intense, amber gaze of a majestic lioness.
It wasn’t until she was very close to him that his heart started beating faster, and he became very aware of her presence.
The photographer knew right away that something was wrong.
The lioness suddenly moved his attention away from the zebras by gently pressing her paw on his shoulder. He was shocked when the scary lioness looked at him.
When Paul finally found the courage to look the lion in the eyes, he immediately knew something was wrong.
The worried animal was breathing quickly and heavily, as if something bad had made it so big that its body couldn’t handle it. It looked like the lion’s massive body was about to burst. Paul realised that this was a matter of life and death…
Paul decided to act, driven by a desire to help and a need to feel alive.
He quickly picked up his phone and called Dr. Ndaba, who specialises in treating wildlife.
The lioness was out of breath, and Paul could see that she was getting weaker and weaker. He had never experienced anything like it before.
After waiting a long time, Dr. Ndaba finally arrived. He was just as amazed as Paul.
Dr Ndaba decided to make the lion sleepy right away.
Paul wasn’t allowed into the operating room, so he spent his time wandering around the waiting area.
“I can’t believe this,” said the vet, looking shocked.
When they got to the phones, the vet stopped and immediately started dialling a number. Paul couldn’t hear the number the caller was dialling, but when he heard the voice on the other end of the line, he realised it was the police.
The vet was shocked to find a tracking device in the lion’s stomach during the operation. It looked like the poachers had been watching the lion, waiting for the right moment to attack.
The vet thought the lion had probably eaten meat with a tracking device in it. The poachers had left the device there after they’d been careless.
Luckily, the vet was able to remove the tracker from the lion’s stomach and give it the right antibiotics.
But the situation for the poachers has gotten a lot worse.
When the police arrived, Dr. Ndaba took them to a safe room in the clinic, including Paul.
The detective looked closely at the device and frowned. “This is advanced technology,” he said.
“What these bad guys don’t know is that these devices can work in reverse,” the officer continued. This meant they could track and arrest the poachers.
It didn’t take long for them to find the poachers’ hiding place using the tracking device.
The team hid and waited for the detective’s signal to help them.
When the signal was given, they broke through the door and surprised the poachers. They arrested ten poachers in their hideout and found a lot of illegal animal products.
The police arrested a group of criminals and saved a lion. The lion was taken to the zoo, where it was looked after until it was well again. Then it was reunited with its family.
After that, the story of the lion and the people who were hunting it was widely reported.
The lion is still alive. If you visit Kafue National Park in Zambia, you might be able to see him. After he fully recovered, the park honoured him for his bravery and for protecting the park’s wildlife.