lions

This is one video that you do not get to see every day, animal lovers. A tug of war enrichment game between a lioness and three professional wrestlers. Yup, you read that right. And guess who the winner is.

It's amazing, how easily we forget just how strong and dangerous these adorable fluffy big cats are. We look at pictures of wild animals and sometimes wish that they would interact with us puny humans - looking at insane videos of people who are part of a lion's pride, we feel jealousy, but then seeing a tumblr thread like this reminds us of just how dangerous they are. 

Although we don't love that this animal is in captivity in the first place, we are glad that the people working at the San Antonio Zoo are trying to give her such enrichment programs and make her day a little more fun. 

Meet Chad Staples! A man who loves what he does, and what he does is love and care for wild animals at the Mogo Wildlife Park in Syndey Australia. His love for the animals he cares for is endless and his goal is to share that love he has for animals and to ignite those same feelings in you. 

For those who follow Chad on Instagram, you'd know just how meaningful each animal is to him and the special bond he creates with each creature is truly something you can see and feel within his images and/or videos. 

Here's Chad's story:

Story via Brightside.Me

Be still our beating hearts! If these images aren't the most darling images you'll see all day...

On November 6th, four white lion cubs were born at the Nantong Forest Safari Park in Jiangsu, in east China. The cubs, all males, are expected to make their very first public debut this upcoming Saturday. Images below show the cubs playing with one another and being pampered by the safari park keepers, and quite honestly, it may just be too much cuteness to handle! 

Interesting fact, native to South Africa, there are currently only 13 known white lions in the wild today. Their rare fur color is caused by a genetic mutation, according to the Global White Lion Protection Trust. 

We're wishing these beautiful cubs a long and healthy life! 

Story via DailyMail

Our hearts may just burst completely wide open and there's nothing that can be done about it. It's a phenomenon called cuteness overload and this cub has all those characteristics in the making. 

We've seen dogs frolicking in autumn leaves, heck we've seen cats enjoying the beautiful Fall weather, but lion cubs? Lion cubs in piles of fallen leaves and attacking them? Well, never have we ever seen anything so precious! 

Autumn is still here, and these photos are the only things keeping us warm right now. With winter right around the corner, we think we could all use these heartwarming images to help us brace for the inevitable cold. 

How can we ever truly be sure that cats are related to the those big fluffy scary lions? Well, put a lion mane on a cat obviously. That's all the proof you'll ever need. It's enough to just look at cats wearing lion manes to be 100% sure that duh- of course they're related to lions. 

Maybe you'd expect cats to look more fierce with lion manes on, but alas, they still look just as adorable. Then again, lions themselves are also adorable, so maybe we shouldn't be surprised. We wonder if cats feel more fierce when they look more like their lion relatives, if they sense some sort of kinship to lions when you put the mane on them. Sigh gonna have to write that question down with the rest of them for when we finally have a cat translator. 

The news of L.A. Zoo's African lions Hubert and Kalisa hit us pretty hard. The pair were always together, never having cubs, but still, side by side for many years. Best friends, soulmates, this duo truly loved one another. 

Last Thursday, L.A. Zoo, made the difficult decision to humanely put the pair down with euthanize, due to their declining health and illnesses due to age. 

Denise Verret, director of the L.A. Zoo, had this to say about the beautiful pair, "Hubert and Kalisa are an iconic part of the L.A. Zoo experience, and our staff and guests have been touched by their loyal companionship. Their longevity is truly a testament to the level of expert care our veterinary and animal care teams provide for our elderly animals. These lions will remain a positive part of our history, and they will be greatly missed."

We will miss you, Hubert and Kalisa. Rest in peace. 

Story via CNN

There's nothing like some good laughs on a Sunday morning.  So pour your morning cup and scroll through these hot memes. 

Want some more? Here's a link to our previous list.

It appears parenting is difficult for all living creatures and not just us humans! Here's a lion dad who properly reflects some of our human-like reactions when it comes to dealing with little ones...

That face that just screams, "done."

You know the one. If you don't just scroll down to see what we're talking about. 

Oh my, oh my! If these aren't the most precious pictures we've ever seen -- we don't know what is! We seriously cannot contain our smiles looking at these purrfect lion cubs smile! 

It's totally contagious! 

The cubs are both males who have yet to be named, born January 11th to mom Kali and dad Arnold, at the Audubon Zoo.

The duo went in for a routine check-up and had their first round of vaccinations -- both "healthy and active," says zoo curator of large mammals, Joe Forys. 

"The cubs looked great. Their body condition is outstanding. They are both growing at a rate that we would expect. We're really happy," continued Forys.

The cubs great health is all thanks to their loving and doting mother! Forys said that Kali is providing her babies with absolutely everything they need and more. These two sure look like happy cubs to us!