It’s the kind of lovingly playful lick on the head you would expect to see a young cat bestow on its owner.

But this is a lion, and Jim Jablon is not in his own home – he’s literally in the lions’ den.

These incredible pictures show just how well the Florida man is getting along with his new housemates Lea, an 18-month-old African lion, and Ed, a ten-month-old black-maned lion.

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In the lion’s den: Jim Jablon is living with two lions for the whole of January to raise money for his wildlife shelter

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Who’s the king of the jungle? Jablon shares a yawn with his housemate

The 42-year-old Army vet and single father has caused a stir worldwide with his promise to spend the entire month of January living with the two lions at the centre he runs, Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando County, Florida.

These images of Jablon come from day five of the challenge, during which he will eat ‘regular cooked food,’ rationed to one square meal a day, which will be served in the evening when Lea and Ed are devouring 14lb of raw meat as their dinner.

So far his biggest problem has been keeping his trousers on.

‘Every time I bend over they go for my butt,’ he said.

‘Their  rip my pants right off. I’ve been through six pairs already.’

Jablon is also sleeping in the 12ft-high, 3,000sq ft enclosure on a bed on hay – or somewhere harder to reach if things get a bit too hairy.

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Lion down: Jablon is eating and sleeping at the enclosure, although he isn’t yet certain if he will stay on the straw bed

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Aw, get off: Jablon never turns an animal away from the refuge, relying on volunteers and the help of his 13-year-old daughter

‘I may have to construct a bed in one of the trees, just out of their reach or come up with another idea, depending on what they make of me being there,’ he said.

‘After all, lions generally sleep for 18-20 hours a day so I’m going to be getting a lot of rest.

‘But I’ll be ever-vigilant and I will have a small fenced-off safety area in the corner if it looks like they’re getting too aggressive or I feel things are getting too dangerous.

The stunt is a way to raise funds for Jablon’s animal refuge, which cares for injured or orphaned animals in the hope of giving them the chance to be returned to the wild.

He opened the site in 1999 and was soon caring for raccoons, injured deer, bobcats, coyotes, snakes, eagles and owls.

But soon the animals being brought in were getting increasingly larger and exotic – alligators, monkeys and big cats, including lions, tigers, lynx and pumas.

Jablon, originally from Long Island, New York, tries to ensure he never turns an animal away from the refuge, relying on volunteers and the help of his 13-year-old daughter Chelsey.

But as the facility has grown in size, the cost of feeding and looking after the increasing number of animals and the cost of their medical care has also risen rapidly, leading to Mr Jablon’s unusual plan.

‘I was looking for a way to raise funds to help the animals and I am constantly striving to look at what makes them happy, at what stimulates them, so I thought living with them for a month would help both causes,’ he said.

‘I couldn’t survive without donations and hopefully this event will let people know I’m here and that I need help in helping the animals.’

‘If the lions were fully grown I wouldn’t be doing this.

‘I feel they are still at the size and development stage where I can control them but, yes, they’re big, and I have to take great care.

‘I don’t train my animals to do tricks and be with other people.

‘I try to give them natural lives, so once they get to be a little bigger I will not be coming in with them.’

Jablon began living with the lions at midnight on New Year’s Eve and will leave the den on January 31.

You can watch a live feed of his time in the cage at http://wrohflorida.com