Lion Cubs Hug Trainer On His Last Day At Park (VIDEO)

In this heartwarming video, baby lions climb, hug and lick a park worker on his last day on the job.

It's not certain if the man in the video is a volunteer or an official worker at the lion park, but one thing is for sure -- these animals don't want to let him go. Their squeals alone are enough to make you shed a tear.

While Asian lions are already listed as an endangered species, African lions have a shrinking population and could be headed in that direction.

Other not-to-be-missed cute lion cub videos include a viral video featuring a cute baby lion playing with a toddler in a crib and a pair of cubs attempting to climb out of a massive plastic cup.

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• Cheetah Cubs

  Three cheetah cubs, born in November 2004, lean against their mother during a preview showing at the National Zoo in February 2005 in Washington D.C. Today there are just 12,400 cheetahs remaining in the wild, with the biggest population, totaling 2,500 living in Namibia.

• Baby Black Rhino

  A baby Black Rhinoceros stands in front of its mother in an enclosure at Tokyo's Ueno Zoo in June 2009. The Black Rhinoceros is a critically endangered species, according to the International Rhino Foundation there are less than 5,000 surviving in the world.

• Orangutans

  An orangutan infant at Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta, Indonesia, on February 15, 2007. Orangutans are threatened by deforestation and hunting. Click here for more orangutan photos.

• Koala

  A baby joey koala at Sydney's Wildlife World. Though koalas are Australia's most iconic and adored marsupials, they are under threat due to a shortage of suitable habitat from mass land clearance.

• Gorilla Mother And Son

  A 15-year-old female mountain gorilla holds her five month old son at the Kahuzi Biega Nature Park in Democratic Republic of Congo in May 2004. Only 700 mountain gorillas are left in the world, and over half live in central Africa.

• African Penguins

  A group of African penguins gather near a pond at a conservation site in Cape Town, South Africa. Birdlife International say the African penguin is edging closer to extinction.

• Endangered Tiger Cubs

  A Trio of 45 day-old Bengal white tiger cubs were born in December 2007 At the Buenos Aires Zoo. With only 240 white tigers living in the world, their birth gave a boost to the animals' endangered population.

• South Korea's Black Bears

  A pair of black bears sit at a zoo in Kwachon, South Korea in November 2001. Black bears have been on the endangered species list since 2007.

• Madagascar Lemur

  A newly born Madagascar Lemur, an endangered species, at Besancon Zoo in France. There are only 17 living in captivity worldwide.

• Red Pandas

  Two-month-old twin Red Panda cubs make their debut at Taronga Zoo in March 2007 in Sydney, Australia. The cubs were born out of an international breeding program for endangered species.

• Lin Hui

  China's panda is one of the world's most beloved but endangered animals. Lin Hui, a female Panda- on a ten-year loan from China - eats bamboo at Chiang Mai Zoo in Thailand in Sept 2005. Captive pandas are notoriously poor breeders.

• South East Asian Monkey

  The Sydney's Taronga Zoo is home for this bright orange male infant monkey. This South East Asian monkey is highly endangered.

• Night Monkey

  A grey-bellied Night Monkey born in captivity climbs onto his mother's arms at the Santa Fe Zoo, in Medellin, Colombia. The Night Monkey is an endangered species.

• Tigers

  A six-month-old male Sumatran tiger cub rests under his mother careful watch at the National Zoo in Washington in October 2004. Sumatran tigers are endangered; fewer than 500 are believed to exist in the wild and 210 animals live in zoos around the world.

• Elephants

  A baby elephant is pictured at the Singapore Zoo on Friday, Dec. 10, 2010. Many elephants are threatened by habitat loss and listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List.

• Polar Bears

  A sow polar bear rests with her cubs on the pack ice in the Beaufort Sea in Alaska. In 2008, the U.S. government described polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Due to dangerous declines in ice habit, polar bears are at risk of becoming endangered.

From our partners

• How Two Determined Sisters Set Up A Pet Rescue Pipeline To Colorado - Mother Nature Network
• Panel Finds Flaws In Hurricane Sandy Warning System - Climate Central
• 11 Images And Facts About A Misunderstood Creature - Mother Nature Network

Comments

[Karen Pottruff]

09:17 AM on 12/24/2012

You must miss them very much!

[megatropolas]

09:43 AM on 07/30/2012

I would just enjoy a chance to take that guy to dinner

[Karen Pottruff]

09:18 AM on 12/24/2012

Can I come too?

[eversogreene]

10:55 AM on 07/29/2012

One can only hope that these truly beautiful animals are not being trained for "entertainment" purposes and end up in some horrific circus. Would that there magnificence
thrives in an environment that protects and nurtures them.

[Araida]

01:25 AM on 07/29/2012

Sweet little Cubs Cats are the best!

[Goldie Treasure]

07:39 PM on 07/28/2012

Aw so cute...and so are those adorable cubs.

[twayside]

02:01 PM on 07/28/2012

Awwwww. The sweet babies.

[Imago1122]

06:53 AM on 07/28/2012

It's all about love...so sad these cubs will mostly forget this lesson later on as, in spite of their conditioning toward humans, they become closer to how nature intended them.

[janha]

10:20 PM on 07/27/2012

My favorite people are animal lovers.

[greenwitch]

02:22 AM on 07/28/2012

My favorite people are animals. ;)

[IGottaBMe]

10:59 AM on 07/28/2012

Animal lovers often make good spouses and friends.

[Thermoguy]

10:14 PM on 07/27/2012

Thank you so much for sharing this. Anyone working around animals of any kind knows you can't buy this love, you have to earn it.

I am reminded every day of our responsibility to protect all life on the planet.

[Harry Pottter]

05:22 PM on 07/27/2012

Awwwwwwwww...where's the blood? Where's the aggression? Pfft, those aren't real lions.

[GirlUsingBrain]

04:23 PM on 07/27/2012

Amazingly wonderful but ....

People ... Don' forget:

DO NOT TRY THIS IN THE WILD!

[Yank62]

02:45 PM on 07/27/2012

First there's oohs and ahhs...

Adorable now, but they're wild creatures. If he comes back to play with them in a few years, the outcome might be a little...uncomfortable for participant and viewer.

(See also...polar bear cubs)

[Crossoflorraine]

11:51 AM on 07/27/2012

Heart breaking that they had to go their separate ways.

[Ogg-the-bear]

10:25 AM on 07/27/2012

Dream job. No question.

[bdazz]

10:11 AM on 07/27/2012

This is beyond cute...