Time to take a nap! The lioness settles down to take a nap next to the man who saved her as a child, and gently places a giant paw on his head.
- Ten-year-old lioness Sirga loves to take a nap next to her rescuer Val Gruner.
- The pair will often nap in the shade, with Sirga resting her paw on his head.
- Mr. Gruner and Mikkel Legart rescued her when she was a cub when her mother rejected her.
- The couple founded the Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana to protect wild lions.
The lioness who survived against all odds loves more than anything to take a nap next to the man who rescued her as a helpless cub, placing one paw gently on his head as a token of affection.
A ten-year-old Sirga may be a huge predator weighing around 185 kg, but the big cat jumps into the arms of conservationist Val Gruner of the Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana like a tabby cat who sees his owner after a long day.
Mr Gruner, 34, rescued the lioness when she was just a few days old and has been raising her ever since, meaning the unlikely pair are now so comfortable they’ll take quiet naps together under the trees.
Best friends: Sirga and Val Gruner have such a close relationship that he would happily lie next to her as she bared her teeth at the Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana.
Even though they are lying next to each other, Sirga even extends a giant paw and places it on Val’s head while sleeping to make sure there is body contact between them.
German-born Mr Gruner said: “Hugging Sirga is certainly an amazing feeling. On a hot day, she can most of the time just sit under some bush in the shade with me.
“When she naps, she usually wants to know that I’m around and maintains body contact by placing her paw on me or just leaning against me.”
“The first moment she says hello and hugs me is a bit like a short game of intense rugby and can be physically demanding and exhausting for me.
“When she overcomes this hype, which usually does not last long, I also relax and enjoy.
“Although I have complete confidence in her, it is psychologically very difficult to be so close to a large predator, because there is always an element of risk.”
Sirga places a giant paw on Mr Gruner’s head whenever they take a nap under a tree in Botswana.
Hey! Sirga weighs about 185 kg, but she always greets the conservationist Mr. Gruner with all her heart.
Sirga’s parents wandered from the Kalahari Central Game Reserve in search of land and ended up in an enclosure on a livestock farm where she and two other cubs were born.
Her siblings died and Sirga was rejected by her mother before being rescued by conservationists Mr. Gruner and his business partner Mikkel Legart, who refused to stand by and watch her die.
Over the years, Sirga developed a special bond with the couple who fought to save her species in Botswana.
She is now the proud mascot of the Modisa Wildlife Project, founded by Mr Gruner and Mr Legart, a Dane, in an attempt to save the wild lion population in southern Africa.
The expansion of agriculture has put the big cats at risk, cutting off their territories, despite the fact that Botswana is two and a half times the size of Britain and has vast areas of wilderness.
Sirga has a special bond with Mr. Gruner, who saved her when she was a cub and will wake up by pushing her head with his.
Mr. Gruner added: “Since she could have overpowered me so easily, it is obvious that I should be completely focused on her and her behavior.”
“I mix everything else around me, and when I’m with her, it’s just me and her, the moment and the space we’re in.
“That feeling of not having distractions and just living in that very presence is perhaps the most rewarding experience of being with her.”
Sirga lives in a 5,000-acre reserve right next to Val’s home, and the pair can walk up to 18 miles a day while she tracks down the antelope.
Apex Predator Sirga has known Valentin Gruner all her life since he started raising her after her mother rejected her.
The lioness is always so happy to see Mr. Gruner that she jumps through the air and falls into his arms before getting on top of him and licking him.
Mr Grüner said: “If the weather is cool, Sirga can walk 20 to 30 km a day and we are busy tracking, stalking and chasing antelopes.
“On days like this, she doesn’t have much time for hugs until she’s completely tired.
“Syrga has become a huge lioness. If she stands on her hind legs, she is much taller than me.”
“In addition to the fact that Sirga has become very massive, nothing much has changed.
“Today she has a 2,000-hectare reserve where she can roam, but in our relationship it has always been the same.”