The roar of lions startled a Dundee toddler beginning to hear for the first time when he spent the Christmas and New Year period visiting family in South Africa.
Born with no auditory nerves, two-year-old Oliver Bosch has had a rollercoaster year, undergoing a pioneering brain operation in Italy to allow him to hear in February.
An implant fitted on to his brain stem uses 12 electrodes that perform the role of auditory nerves, and throughout 2013 he had them turned on gradually so he can adjust to sounds.
His mum Jemma said: “Over the last four to six weeks he has really come on and he is making lots of different sounds.
“It is like something has just clicked inside.”
Over the festive period Oliver took a break from his medical treatment when he visited family in South Africa along with Jemma, his dad Ben and older sister Darcey, 6.
Jemma said: “He has always been in his own little world, completely isolated in silence. Now he is so fascinated with what is going on. It is like he is a totally different wee boy.”
The family took Oliver to see the lions and while he was startled by their roar he was much happier with the playful meerkats running all over him squeaking.
The family also spent the whole trip trying to catch one of the giant crickets that was taunting Oliver with its strange noise.
When they eventually found one, the size of a £5 note, and showed it to Oliver he was amazed.
Christmas was different this year as Oliver’s favourite present was a musical lion, which he carried around with him everywhere.
Jemma said: “It sang constantly and if we turned it off because it was getting so annoying he would get upset.
“We went through two sets of batteries a day before he broke it playing with it in the sand.”
Oliver still enjoys playing with his other musical toys, a singing Mickey Mouse doll, a drum, xylophone and toy keyboard.
His family hope he will have a fighting chance of catching up to his peers before he starts school and he is travelling to London regularly for speech therapy.
His family continue to fundraise to pay for his treatments and have a website at www.oliverboschappeal.org.