The lion father struggles to take care of the cubs while their wounded mother recovers

As a parent, taking care of their children is usually arduous, and it seems that not only people have to cope with this burden, but also animals. But no one proves it better than that poor lion dad. Father of five children, this majestic lion may be the king of the jungle, but when it comes to parenting, he looks as helpless as his prey!

In a series of rather cheerful photographs, a lion was caught on camera, desperately trying to look after his energetic cubs while their mother was away from her family. Although he does seem to be doing his best, the male named Singa is far from being as bossy with his little ones as he is with the rest of the pride. The five naughty cubs are giving him a headache.

The scene unfolded at the Pakawi Park Zoo in Belgium, and the lion was forced to the take over the parenting duties, after the cubs’ mother – JJ – was sent to the zoo’s medical facility for recovery, after she was bitten by another lioness. Even though she only suffered some minor injuries, she has to stay away from their cubs a few days.

Wildlife photographer Linda Smit captured the moment Singa hardly tries to do the mother’s job, but he’s struggling!

“The mother had to be separated from her cubs for a few weeks to heal. So dad had to take care of them,” the photographer said. “He was trying to lift them, like the mother would do, to carry them to what he probably thought was a safer place. But as a male, he didn’t have the skills or experience to properly lift them.”

After nearly a week, JJ fully recovered and she returned to her cubs who were happier than ever to reunite their mom. But, honestly, I don’t know who was happier, the cubs or their dad?!