Annel Snyman, a guesthouse owner in the Waterberg region of South Africa, adopted this young lion cub 8 months ago. Fondly called, “Timba”, the lion not only lives on Annel’s farm, but also sleeps in her bed and cuddles on the couch with her and any house guests present! With a passion for wild animals, Annel applied to the Department of Nature Conservation for a permit to keep and raise them on her farm and since 2009 has hand-reared a cheetah cub, five lions, a white lion, a leopard and six Serval kittens (a medium-sized African wild cat).

These phenomenal wildlife photographs are from the Veolia Environment Wildlife photographer of the Year.

They may be cute on the big screen but they are much cuter in real life!