Not cool, lion cub.
There is plenty of video proof that some dogs are afraid of cats. Those clips are cute and funny because the conventional wisdom is that dogs shouldn't be afraid of cats. In this case, the dog has every reason to be afraid, because the cat in this scenario is, you know, an apex predator! Even if the lion is still a cub, the dog is smart enough to know this is the kind of cat capable of taking out larger prey than tinfoil balls and shadows.
The video was shot at Cornellskop Animal Training Farm in South Africa, where they train animals to perform in films and television commercials. So, I want to believe the animals are rehearsing a scene for a project in which the dog has to act really scared. In which case, bravo! He totally nails it!
If it's not part of rehearsal, let's hope it's a training exercise to teach the big cats that, while it's okay to sneak up and scare dogs, it's never, ever okay to eat them.
(by Jonathan Corbett)