Baby West African Lion
His facial markings had large circles around his eyes that went up and back towards his ears, almost making him a bit cross eyed. I reached down to snap my fingers to see if he would come over, but of course he was a cat, and cats never come when you call them, only when they want to. So I pretended that he was just another kitty, and turned to talk to his owner not paying any attention to him, and the reverse psychology worked. He came over at his leisure to sniff and check me out. I asked if it was okay to pet him, and of course it was. His fur was thick and full, a little more course than you would imagine. I asked if it was okay to pick him up, she said yes, but if he does not want to be picked up, he will let you know. He was larger than any cat I have ever seen, and I bent down to put both hands on either side of his rib cage. As I started to lift, he let out high-pitched squeal/whine/roar that you would only hear in a 70's horror film and I immediately new, that this prince of the jungle did not want to picked up. I asked if it was okay to bring my friend down, who was staying in the suite one floor above, and she said yes, but to wait about 40 minutes and meet her in room 602. Those guys have two baby Chimpanzees. I was speechless. I started to say, your kidding right, but because I was sitting there petting a baby West African Lion, she obviously was on the up-and-up.
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