Viral video showing woman cuddling with lion cubs has sparked online debate. The heartwarming viral video of a British conservationist named Freya Aspinall, who is the daughter of famed wildlife advocate Damian Aspinall, cuddling with four rescued lion cubs has gone viral on social media. It was only hours from being put out of its misery when Aspinall’s team intervened to rescue these captive-born cubs bred by an exploitative breeder to make a profit from their images.
The video shows Aspinall surrounded by cubs snuggling up to her like domestic pets. She explained in the caption that she had to hand-raise them, which included sleeping with them and nurturing them as a mother would.
Aspinall, daughter of famed wildlife advocate Damian Aspinall, shared the video with the caption: “How I sleep at night (not pets). A few months ago, we rescued four baby lions who were only hours away from being euthanised.”
“They were born in captivity to someone who exploits animals for profit, and someone reached out to us to see if we could help. Within hours, we were able to intervene and rescue them immediately. I then began the journey of hand-raising them, which includes sleeping with them and nurturing them as a mother would,” she added.
The conservationist’s ultimate goal is to rewild the cubs in Africa, just as they have done with other rescued lions before.
“Our plan is to send them to Africa, where they truly belong, just as we have done with other lions we’ve rescued and hand-raised before. Hand-raising is always a last resort, but in this case, it was the only way to save their lives.”
Viewers were divided, with some praising Aspinall’s dedication and others raising concerns about the ethics of close human interaction with wild animals, even in rescue scenarios.While the devoted lover of the little cubs showered praises for her persistent move to save the cubs, others were considerable concern over long-term complications such close contact has on them.
This video created something of debate online, with people pointing to complexities in wildlife conservation and human interaction roles in rescue and rehabilitation activities.
Reacting to the video, a user commented, “Team no sleeping i guess? You do great work”
Another user wrote, “Do you ever get any sleep Freya? 😂 They are super cute 😍✨”
A third user commented, “How does having them inside help with re wilding? Not a criticism just curious. If they get used to going into
WATCH the viral video here:
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