This Photo does not Show an Elephant Carrying a Lion Cub
The Claim
A photograph shows an elephant carrying a lion cub next to its mother
News posted on
Emerging story
On April 1st, 2018, South Africa’s Kruger National Park shared the image in question to their Twitter account, Kruger sightings, along with the words “Sloof Lirpa.” Since then, the image has been shared many times on Twitter and other social media, going viral periodically as more people discover the story.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation into this claim reveals it to be false. “Sloof Lirpa” is “April Fools” backwards, and since the image was posted on April 1st, it appears to be a photoshopped April Fools Day prank. Lions and Elephants (and in general, any predators and prey) do not actually help each other and are in fact mortal enemies especially in the harsh conditions of the African Savannah during the dry season. The image of the elephant alone was taken in Kruger National Park in 2005.
