Wow! A female lion at the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston has been reunited with her former owner, and she totally covered for the fact that, while he looked sort of familiar, she couldn’t really place his face but just kind of ran with it anyway.
Three years ago, Keeya was rehabilitated by Josh Waters for four months after her rescue from a circus in Peru. It was a tearful reunion for Josh and more of a “wtf” moment for Keeya.
“I was so happy to see Keeya and how well she’s doing,” says Josh. “But when she looked me in the eye and nodded her head up and down in recognition, I really lost it. She remembered me. These animals feel on a much deeper level than people realize.”
“When I brought him by the enclosure, I could tell Keeya had no idea who he was,” said Juana Flores, the senior animal keeper for the exhibit. “As he got closer she had a faint recognition but couldn’t place him, but he was so emotional that she eventually came over to the fence and pawed at it.”
“Everyone here’s been telling me how much she missed me,” says Josh. “I thought they were exaggerating, but once she saw me she started pacing up and down in front of me excitedly. It was really special.”
“While he was crying, Keeya gave me this look like, ‘Remind me who this is?’” says Juana. “But I couldn’t break it to him, so I was like ‘Awww she missed you!’”
Asked for comment, Keeya just laid down and closed her eyes.
