All Babies Grow UP

When I was last here, in December of 2008, there were four new little lion cubs that had been born in September of that year. That's me in the picture holding Brad (named after Brad Pitt--You can imagine how all the women wanted a picture hugging Brad).

But all babies grow up. Fortunately, Brad and his two brothers (one, unfortunately, died when his intestine was punctured by a bone he swallowed) have grown into sweet, gentlemanly lions who are called by all "The Brothers."

Since Willi and Cornelia have arrived, I've spent much more time with the Brothers since Willi loves them as much as I do--and it's always good to go into their enclosure with another person. (Even though they're very tame, if they decided to "play" by pouncing on me, being alone wouldn't be a good thing.)

So every day Willi and I go into the enclosure and give the Brothers some serious loving--hugging, petting, and even kissing them on the nose. I know some of you out there are saying, "Barb's finally lost it," but those who have been at Harnas know what an amazing thing it is to be close to a giant carnivore, especially ones as serene and dignified as these boys.

Eventually--when they get sexually mature--male lions pretty much become unapproachable. They kick and roar and generally get all crazed when humans come into their territory (like in one of my earliest blogs about Sher Kahn). But right now I love to take advantage of the sweetness of these wonderful lions. It's a memory I'll take with me forever.

And now a word from our sponsor: The book I've written on Marieta and Harnas, SOUL OF A LION, is already on Amazon.com--as a preorder. When I received word of this from National Geographic, I went to the website and found it. I can't tell you how thrilled and proud I felt to be officially part of the Harnas family. Since I'm donating half my profits back to Marieta, I can feel good about saying I hope the book sells a million copies. This place deserves to be noticed and supported. Think:Christmas Gifts!