Jonathan Hawkins, a teacher living in Seoul, South Korea, captured this video during a visit to the Modisa Wildlife Project in Botswana, according to Mikkel Legarth, co-founder of the project.
One of the co-founders of the preserve, Valentin Gruener, developed a close bond with some of the lions, including this lioness who he helped raise that gives Gruener a giant hug when she’s released from her enclosure.
It is truly inspirational to see someone develop such an amazing bond with an animal, especially an animal that is so powerful and majestic. It just goes to show how powerful the friendship between man and animals can be.