3-month-old lion cub Safina is enjoying some domestic comforts before she settles into her permanent residence at Linton Zoo. Zoo co-owner Kim Simmons is raising Safina at home because the cub’s parents didn’t have the experience to care for their firstborn.

Safina’s father, Riziki, was also hand-reared as was her mother, Karla. Bottle-fed on the same special milk formula her parents were raised on, Safina has made herself right at home, spending much of her time being fawned over by Arnie, a ginger tom cat who has adopted the lioness cub for the time being.

Simmons stressed that raising wild animals like Safina in a domestic setting was done to ensure survival only when there was no other alternative.

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