When a young lion broke his leg, he could have been in grave danger.
Because lions travel and hunt in large groups, Ajali's injury made it hard for his pride to keep moving. He could have been left behind, without the safety a large pride affords.
But family comes first for these lions. And Ajali was lucky to have his devoted siblings come to his rescue.
Ajali's older brother and two younger sisters broke off from the larger pride and stayed behind with him. The siblings kept Ajali safe from predators. They also hunted for him and brought him his meals.
A field technician from the Ecological Monitoring unit at Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya, saw the story unfold on the 90,000 acres that are home to 71 lions. There are six main lion prides on the land, and in each pride one lioness is collared with a GPS radio collar, which allows the conservancy to monitor pride movement and behavior.
Closely monitoring the injured lion and his siblings in case they needed help, the field technician gave the wounded lion his name. Ajali is a Swahili word for "accident."
Luckily, the family was strong enough to help Ajali on their own. "Ajali is now fully healed and on the move with his siblings," Ol Pejeta Conservancy told The Dodo.
Learn more about Ol Pejeta here.