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  • 4 days ago
After several failed attempts, Kevin Richardson and the team finally pull off a lion reunion as Meg and Icarus are brought back together. What begins as a tricky move from the camp next to the walking enclosure turns into a heartwarming wildlife moment, with the older lion needing patience, a familiar approach, and a little help from a ramp before he can join his mate again.

This Lion Whisperer episode follows the real challenges of moving lions, checking Icarus’s mobility, and working around the stiffness that comes with age. The result is a calm, emotional sanctuary story about animal care, lion behavior, and the bond between two big cats who clearly know each other well. It also offers a thoughtful look at how experienced handlers move lions safely and manage an enclosure for enrichment walks.

For anyone searching for lion reunion footage, big cat sanctuary content, wildlife rescue and animal care videos, or Kevin Richardson lion stories, this episode delivers a satisfying mix of patience, problem-solving, and gentle conservation storytelling. It’s ideal for viewers who enjoy nature documentaries, animal behavior, and behind-the-scenes wildlife management.

Category

🐳
Animals
Transcript
00:03all right morning morning morning guys so here we are again attempt number I have lost count
00:10trying to move Icarus and Meg out of the camp next to the walking enclosure I really need to
00:18move them because I need to get other lines in here so that they can all go on their enrichment
00:23walks but yeah as luck would have it last time I tried Meg refused to load we then built a
00:32ramp
00:32the ramp was a rudimentary ramp when I came to try and load Meg because I thought she'd walk up
00:37the
00:38ramp no problemo then Icarus was playing up he was very possessive over a bone that was left behind
00:45after feeding yeah I can hear you yeah left it for a little bit came back then decided to move
00:55them
00:55rather by walking them to the next camp which which always seems to to work Meg walked beautifully
01:02Icarus walked most of the way then decided no he's going to go back and then he went back
01:08tried to load him in the vehicle by that time I think he was just a little bit too tired
01:14then I
01:14tried to walk him again that didn't work so we just left him then eventually just went in and lay
01:19down in the in the shade so I said to George just leave it a day let's come back fresh
01:24it is a feeding
01:26day so Ikki should be hungry and we are going to firstly try him in a familiar area because I
01:33think
01:33that was half the problem the first time around was that you know when things are unfamiliar the cats
01:39get a bit nervous especially when they are old and so I said to George let's just do the
01:44familiar thing that he knows drive the vehicle in you can walk up to the vehicle and then we can
01:49try
01:50and load him and if he doesn't load with or without the ramp then we will attempt yet again to
01:55walk
01:55him and then if he doesn't want to walk us geez I'm all out of ideas so let's hope and
02:03pray that Icarus
02:32plays ball
02:35Oh
02:39Yeah boy, oh
02:49Come boy
02:51Yeah
02:56Oh my boy
02:59Yeah
03:03Good job my boy
03:40Yeah
03:41Yeah
03:41Come
03:42You can
03:44Yeah
03:45Yeah
03:47Yeah
03:49Yeah
03:52Yeah
03:53Yeah
03:57Boy
04:05Yes
04:07I'm gonna need the ramp to get him out of the shaft
04:09Oh, okay
04:16Okay, so
04:23It's not the
04:25It's not him being a difficult cat
04:28It's just
04:30Finding it difficult to get in and we've
04:33Guys, seriously we've tried
04:34Oh, you wanna go out this gate or the other gate?
04:36Uh
04:38No, let's go out that gate
04:39Yes
04:40Alright, I'll see you there
04:43So it's not
04:45Icarus being difficult
04:47It's
04:48It's
04:49The stiffness
04:50Anyway
04:52Icarus in
04:53Happy days
04:53Off to see his missus
04:55I think they're gonna be
04:57Excited
04:58There's gonna be
05:00A little reunion
05:02I think Meg's gonna be super chuffed
05:04To have her man back
05:07Yay
05:09Finally
05:10We get this camp back
05:13Okay
05:15I can't tell you how happy I am guys
05:17At the eleventh hour
05:18Icarus
05:19Decides that he has it in him to
05:22To get in the vehicle, so
05:29There he is
05:31He's very, very mobile lately
05:33So
05:34I'm very impressed with his mobility
05:37For a cat of his age
05:39You know
05:39He's a little bit unstable on the
05:41The hindquarters
05:43But that's
05:43That's a typical
05:45Issue
05:45That he's facing
05:47I will just say this
05:48Icarus is not
05:49On
05:50Any kind of anti-inflammatory
05:53Or painkillers
05:54At the moment
05:54Because
05:55You know
05:56After assessing him
05:57We decided
05:58We decided
05:59That actually
06:00It's not
06:01That's not an issue at all
06:03His
06:04His issue really
06:04Is mechanical
06:05And that frustrates him
06:07I can see it
06:08Frustrating him
06:09Guys
06:10He gets
06:11Super aggro
06:12And pissed off
06:13Because he can't do
06:15What he used to do easily
06:17And I think
06:18That's like
06:18Most people
06:19When they get old
06:20You know
06:21You kind of
06:23Remember the days
06:24When you could easily
06:24Just step up a stair
06:26And now
06:27You can't
06:27So
06:28Guys
06:29If there's one
06:29Word of
06:30Or piece of advice
06:31That I could offer up
06:33It's you know
06:34In your youth
06:35Your 30's
06:36Your 40's
06:37Your 20's
06:38Weight train
06:39And
06:41Do cardiovascular
06:42But
06:42If you're going to choose
06:44Between the two
06:44Honestly I would say
06:45Strength train
06:46And
06:47It will
06:48Stand you in good stead
06:50When you are
06:50Older
06:51And you need
06:52Mobility
06:53Look he's coming up
06:55Oh
06:57Did you miss him?
06:59Or did you miss me?
07:06Why isn't that opening?
07:11Hello my sweetheart
07:14Oh
07:15Oh
07:16And you move
07:20Why
07:21Have you been rubbing your head?
07:23Why would you rub your head?
07:25Where did you rub your head?
07:28Why did you rub your head?
07:30Huh?
07:30Why did you rub your head?
07:31Huh?
07:34Meggie
07:35That's not very good
07:36That's not very good
07:37Why are you rubbing your head?
07:39Sweetheart
07:41Is that because
07:41You missed your boyfriend?
07:45Oh he's not happy with that
07:49George is just trying to help him
07:54That's the thanks you get huh?
08:13Come on
08:16That's it my boy
08:18Nice
08:19Nicely done
08:20There we go
08:21Good job
08:27Well that was hardly the greeting that I thought
08:31Was appropriate
08:35I thought
08:54Reunited
08:59Maybe we can lock him in with the meat
09:02Okay, I'll show him the meat once he's finished drinking.
09:19There we go.
09:20The reunion.
09:21Are you happy?
09:23Eh?
09:24Ikki, look.
09:26Look, there's some food there, buddy.
09:28Nice piece of meat for you.
09:36I will come back.
09:37Yeah, he'll come later.
09:38So a lot of people will see lions as these ferocious, you know, not to be messed with
09:46big cats that are out to get people.
09:49And I don't see them like that.
09:51Alright guys, so all is well that ends well.
09:54Happy days.
09:55Happy that Ikki and Meg are back together.
10:00Old married couple.
10:02And yeah, I'd be a miss not to give a shout out and a big thank you to all of
10:08you who
10:08tune in week on week to support and watch the channel.
10:12Thank you for those of you who are coming across the channel for the very first time
10:16and you like the content or you found it interesting or entertaining.
10:23Yeah, please do subscribe.
10:25That is how we grow the channel and go from strength to strength.
10:29For those of you who want to take it to the next level, you can always consider becoming
10:34a member on Facebook.
10:36It's called Facebook subscriptions and on YouTube.
10:40The next tier up from members is pride leaders.
10:43And we have seen that grow in the past few months from strength to strength.
10:48So thank you.
10:49Thank you to all of you.
10:51And yeah, until next time from me, Kevin and all the aging lions at the sanctuary.
10:56Ciao.
11:07Bye.
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