If you've not heard the story of Christian the Lion, it's one you should know. In 1969, two Australians living in London, saw a lion cub for sale in a small cage at Harrods Department Store.
The two men took the cub to their apartment, made a big litter box and raised him as a pet. After almost a year, Christian grew too large to remain a pet. The owners made arrangements to fly Christian to Kenya where conservationist George Adamson would try to rehabilitate him back into the wild.
Within months Christian was the head of a pride. A year later the men returned to Kenya to try and find their former pet who hadn't been seen in nine months. They were told if they could find him, he would no longer recognize them.
The night before the two men arrived in Kenya, Christian returned with his lioness and cubs to the camp where he was rehabilitated. Adamson often talked about the mysterious, apparently telepathic communication skills of lions - particularly between lions and men. He believed Christians return to camp was proof of a sixth sense possessed by lions.
The next day the men walked out of camp to look for Christian. This video shows what happened next. After a reunion that lasted all day and all night, Christian returned to his pride and was never seen again. True story.
Total Length: 02:28 Views: 6,473 Comments: 3 Favorited: 1 Rating: 5 Votes: 5
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heart-warming - christian the lion - kenya - pets - lion













Ginger!
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Posted 12:20pm October 24th, 2009I could watch videos about Christian all day long. What a phenomenal story of love and bonding! I recently watched a one-hour documentary on Animal Planet about the course of Christian's life and sat spellbound by it. John Rendall & Ace Berg took a situation that could easily have ended in disaster and gave it a fairytale ending. I shudder to think what might have happened to all the other wild animals, who were shamelessly sold as pets to people who didn't make the right decision when the time came that they could no longer care for them.
Yes, true friendships do last a lifetime, and I think Christian is probably at the Rainbow Bridge waiting to be reunited with his good friends John and Ace someday. There is no purer love than love from an animal.
Ginger!
Rebecca
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Posted 11:43pm July 1st, 2008Thank you for sharing vivid images of friendship. I marvel at Christian's ability to return to the wild and still remember his human caregivers.
My cat is small, but she puts her paws on either of my shoulders and loves on my neck.
See her and other pets at Feline Domesticus.
Growing Bolder
Growing Bolder
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