The big cat took pity on the young fawn when it emerged shaking from its hideout in the long grass of Uganda's Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Minutes early the intimidating meat eater had chased down the youngster's mother, but showed her softer side minutes later when the confused mammal came running towards her.
Despite looking destined to end up as the beast's dessert, photographer Adri De Visser was amazed when the affectionate lioness carried the orphan away as one of her own cubs.
'I was told there were two lionesses close by feeding on a kill so I went to go take some wildlife pictures,' he explained.
'When I got there, I saw the lionesses feeding on a Uganda kob's carcass.
'I followed them for a while and they went up a tree to rest from the sun.
'I was watching them when I heard a noise - it was the kob's fawn that had been hiding in the long grass.'
He added: 'One of the lionesses heard it too and came down from the tree.
'The fawn just stood there before running into the lioness. It went between its legs like it was trying to get its milk.'
A park ranger disturbed the unlikely meeting, with the lioness carrying the fawn off in to the distance.
The 50-year-old snapper said: 'A park ranger turned up on his motorbike which made a really loud noise, which I think frightened the animals.
'So the lioness picked the fawn up by the neck and carried it off like one of its own.
'We heard from a group of tourists that the fawn was later spotted alive and well.'
