It’s not only in the human world that parents harbor a great love for their children – wild animals can feel very strongly for their offspring too.

We know from scientists’ observations that animals, including close kin such as chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas, express emotions ranging from joy to sorrow. But lions?

This beautiful moment was captured in September, when cameras inside the lion’s cage at the Denver Zoo recorded a truly heartwarming moment between a lion dad and his son.

The lion baby Tatu was born on July 25, 2019 and has since charmed visitors and staff alike at Denver Zoo. The curious, playful, and sweet-looking cub has become a star on social media; no sooner had staff published a video on the future lion king, thousands of hearts melted.

Tatu is mom Neliah’s third cub. He already weighs 12 pounds and his birth is more significant than you might think.

DenverZoo.org reports: “Half of Africa’s lions have disappeared in the past 25 years and the species faces growing threats from poaching, loss of prey and habitat destruction. The cub’s birth is a huge success for the Lion Species Survival Plan (SSP), which ensures healthy, genetically diverse populations of lions within Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) institutions.”

Tatu’s dad, Tobias, also seems to appreciate his son. Tobias hasn’t fathered any cubs previously, which makes his genetics important to the AZA lion population. As this was Tobias first offspring, he was particularly exciting meet his newborn.

In the video below, you can watch their initial meeting. It has been viewed more than half a million times and it’s easy to understand why….

It’s lovely to see, but I always feel a bit concerned as they can turn on their own cubs… Adorable moment!