When it comes to the top of the hunting hierarchy, lions are right at the top. They are wild, they are scary, they are huge.
But they are also cats. And cats love to play and chase balls, ribbons and anything that moves.
Now imagine what happens when you throw a ball at a big, white lion. More precisely, a soccer ball. In front of the paws of the king of beasts.
Out for the ball or happy feline predator?
May we start with an introduction? Triton, a rare white lion who lives at Johannesburg Zoo. He was raised by his keepers and has always lived at the zoo.
He loves to sleep and play with his keeper/girlfriend Dharma.
The zoo has a special program. This involves presenting different objects to the lions to see what arouses the most interest in them.
One day, some children participating in the program threw several things into the lions‘ enclosure.
To their surprise, Triton was only interested in a soccer ball. He started playing with it and couldn’t seem to get enough of it.
As they say in the English-speaking world: he was a smitten kitten.
The new Ronaldo is born
He chased the ball into every corner. He gets excited when his trainer Agnes holds up the ball and calls Triton.
Because he knows: now it’s playtime!
Nothing can stop Triton
Even the body of water that is part of the enclosure is no reason to stop playing. Because the faster the ball, the more interesting the hunt, the more enthusiastic Triton is.
And what have the other lions been doing in the meantime? Doing what they do best: sleeping.
Meanwhile, Triton is well on the way to teaching even the world’s soccer stars a trick or two.
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