But she didn’t seem to hear me at all over the noise of panicking passersby and the roar of cars. A few people who were walking in the garden rushed to the exit, creating a commotion. Someone took out a phone and started filming, cowardly hiding behind a wide tree.
The old woman turned at the noise, saw the huge lion just a few meters away from her, and I braced myself for the worst outcome.
But instead of a scream of terror, she just looked him straight in the eyes and said very quietly, almost in a whisper: “Atlas, is that really you?”. What happened next, I will never forget for the rest of my life. The huge lion slowly lay down on the ground in front of the old woman, placed his massive head on her knees, and let out a low purr.
The sound was more like the purring of a giant domestic cat than the roar of a dangerous beast.
The woman extended a trembling hand and began to gently stroke his thick mane. Tears flowed down her wrinkled cheeks, dripping onto the predator’s fur. A minute later, cars from the zoo security and the police pulled up to the garden with sirens wailing, from which people with tranquilizer guns jumped out.
I rushed to intercept them, waving my arms and desperately shouting for them not to shoot under any circumstances.
The senior guard looked at me incredulously, then at the incredible scene on the bench where an elderly woman was hugging a lion’s neck, and slowly lowered the barrel of his rifle. I quickly, confusedly explained that the woman clearly knew this lion, and there was some deep connection between them. The guard ordered everyone to keep their weapons ready but not to open fire.
Slowly, trying not to make any sudden movements, I approached the bench and asked the old woman to explain what was happening. Atlas didn’t even turn his head in my direction, completely absorbed in the reunion.
He just lay there, with his muzzle on her lap, and his amber eyes were half-closed with pleasure. I sat down on the other end of the bench, so as not to agitate the predator, and as calmly as possible asked if she could tell me how she knew our lion…
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