Chanced upon South African supermodel and blogger Josie Borain’s blog post, talking about her interaction with Valentin Gruener and here’s a summary of what I read.
Josie Borain went to Maun, Botswana with the intention of visiting a friend, Mike Penman, and going on an expedition in Botswana with him. There, she got exposed to the nature and the wildlife, seeing local lions and wild dogs so close to them. Then, she also visited the De Graff Grassland Bushman Lodge, which was set up by a local cattle farmer, Willam De Graff. This Lodge was also a recent collaboration between Graff and Valentin Gruener.
While Josie was at the lodge, she saw Gruener blend into the wildlife and interact with the animals. She also witness the special and amazing relationship of love between a lioness Sirga and Gruener, who has saved her from death after she was being abandoned by her mother. Sirga will pounced on Gruener, not to eat him but to give him her biggest hug, as a form of saying hello and expressing her gratitude towards this guy for saving his life.
It’s probably the best reward for Gruener to feel appreciated from the animals that he has managed to save and make a difference to their lives.