Recently, I was watching this fascinating story on the news about a lion named Christian and his masters. I was immediately hooked on the story because it involved animals as well as the love and attachment between a naturally wild animal and humans.
You may have heard of the show called Kimba The White Lion. When it was first aired in America, it was praised for its storyline of love, life and compassion. The story was also praised because of the positive connection the lion had with humans. The original show aired in 1966 and was remade in 1993. It is quite extraordinary that filling the gap between humans and animals is not just a fictional tale, for it can and already has happened in real life.
Christian was separated from his parents at a young age and put up for sale is Harrods, a London department store in 1969. Christian's parents lived in a zoo, the father came from the Rotterdam zoo and the mother from Jerusalem, and they lived at the Ilfracombe Zoo.
Two men named Anthony Bourke and John Rendall adopted him from Harrods after immediately falling in love with him. They bought him when he was only a few weeks old and soon after named him Christian. The two men immediately bonded with Christian and gave him the best life that they could. "Christian was a very intelligent and remarkable lion," the men raved. "And gentle to everyone!"
As Christian grew, he needed to have a larger area to roam and live, much larger than the type of facility that Tony and John could provide. They made the decision to release him safely into the wilds of Africa. He was ultimately reintroduced to the wild by conservationist George Adamson.
One year later in 1972, his former owners decided to go find Christian in the wild and were wondering if Christian would still remember them. (They were told directly that Christian would not remember them). Amazingly enough, he did, and he ran up to them and gently arched up and wrapped his shoulders around their arms. The other lions in the pride were also gentle and friendly. In 1974, Christian had cubs of his own! :]
This story brings me tears of joy everytime I go back on the internet and read the story. I highly recommend it and viewing the video of the reunion filmed in the 1970's:
*Also, be sure to check out the film: "Christian the Lion" AND the book "A Lion Called Christian." Your hearts will be surely touched as did mine!
Christian was separated from his parents at a young age and put up for sale is Harrods, a London department store in 1969. Christian's parents lived in a zoo, the father came from the Rotterdam zoo and the mother from Jerusalem, and they lived at the Ilfracombe Zoo.
Two men named Anthony Bourke and John Rendall adopted him from Harrods after immediately falling in love with him. They bought him when he was only a few weeks old and soon after named him Christian. The two men immediately bonded with Christian and gave him the best life that they could. "Christian was a very intelligent and remarkable lion," the men raved. "And gentle to everyone!"
As Christian grew, he needed to have a larger area to roam and live, much larger than the type of facility that Tony and John could provide. They made the decision to release him safely into the wilds of Africa. He was ultimately reintroduced to the wild by conservationist George Adamson.
One year later in 1972, his former owners decided to go find Christian in the wild and were wondering if Christian would still remember them. (They were told directly that Christian would not remember them). Amazingly enough, he did, and he ran up to them and gently arched up and wrapped his shoulders around their arms. The other lions in the pride were also gentle and friendly. In 1974, Christian had cubs of his own! :]
This story brings me tears of joy everytime I go back on the internet and read the story. I highly recommend it and viewing the video of the reunion filmed in the 1970's:
*Also, be sure to check out the film: "Christian the Lion" AND the book "A Lion Called Christian." Your hearts will be surely touched as did mine!
I Love this history!!
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