A lion cub is in Russia learning to walk again after its hind legs were broken so that it wouldn’t run away from people take its pictures. In an animal abuse case that shock even the president of the country Vladimir Putin,  the lion cub was beaten up so that tourists could take pictures with it. Learning of the abuse, the president himself reported ordered an inquiry on the case

According to the Daily Mail, the cub named Simba was a few weeks old when it got separated from its mother. The cub was then forced to take pictures by his captors who tortured it and broke its hind legs to prevent it from running as it grew bigger and older.  

The severely abused cub, who also sustained serious injuries on its spine due to the constant torture by its captor was then abandoned in a cold barn in Dagestan by them. Yulia Ageeva, who led a rescue mission to save the cub was quoted by the website that the lion was severely malnourished when it was found. "He was practically not fed, and for some reason in the frost water was constantly poured over him," she said.

Simba was then flown to specialist vet Karen Dallakyan who performed a surgery on him, to allow him to walk again. The vet shared a few videos on his Instagram page in which Simba is seen learning to reuse his legs and learning to walk again after the surgery.

 

 

 

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Dr Dallakyan wrote in the captions for one of the videos, "Photographers broke bones like this so that wild predator cannot escape and behave calmly for pictures." In one of the video, Simba is seen playing with a stuffed toy.

 

 

 

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The vet also briefed Vladimir Putin about the lion cub in a video conference with ecologists in which he also said that he ‘did not see criminal case opened.’ Putin reportedly told the vet that he noted the point down and has ordered a probe on the incident.

On the videos posted on Instagram of Simba learning to walk, Dr Dallakyan received lots of praises and appreciation from netizens for the 'beautiful' animal’s ‘miraculous’ recovery. A user commented on one of the videos saying, "Thanks do much for saving these beautiful lives. Thank you," Another user said, "Thank you for saving Simba! You are a real life hero in this world." Calling Simba a fighter, a user said, "Handsome boy and a fighter." One user wished while commenting on another video of the tiger, "And may he live a much better life"

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