The lioness has not forgotten her savior.
Adolfo Lorenzo was a veterinarian at the São Paulo Zoo when he was asked to help a young lioness, and he got her on her feet and left the city for a few years. When he returned, he visited an old friend and came to Kiara’s enclosure.
Adolfo Lorenzo was working at the São Paulo Zoo when he was asked to examine a new animal. The lioness Kiara suffered from lack of exercise, and she could not even stand on her feet because the sedentary lifestyle severely weakened her bones.
Adolfo remained active, filled out paperwork, and finally got permission to care for her. He decided to take her to a farm, where he tended her for three months. Adolfo spent most of his time with her, playfully keeping her at the level of activity lions should have in the wild.
As Kiara grew stronger, Adolfo brought her back to the zoo and moved to another city for family reasons, but the journey took seven years.
When Adolfo returned to São Paulo, he visited Kiara at the zoo. He was very excited because he hadn’t seen her for seven years. He saw the lioness during a walk and decided to visit her in her enclosure. When Kiara saw her old friend, she ran through the section towards him and hugged him.
“I thought she wouldn’t recognize me. But I was wrong. She recognized me from the first second,” Lorenzo said in an interview.
The photo in front of the camera best captures the emotions that came over Ciara when she saw her friend again after years of separation.
It was believed that only pets could remember humans for a long time. But nature proves that this is not the case.