Christian the lion was born on August 12, 1969 at Ilfracombe Zoo, Devon, England. A few months later, Christian and his sister were sold to the Harrods store in London. This place is expected to have animals perform at Christmas to serve customers.

Ace Bourke and John Rendall, two tourists from Australia who were in London at the time, visited Harrods and stumbled upon a lion cub. From the first time they met, they were so impressed with the animal that they decided to spend money on it and name it Christian in the belief that it would become one of the most memorable lions in history and change people’s prejudice against this animal known as the lord of the forest.

The two live with Christian in London. They realize that this animal is especially kind, sociable and friendly. At that time, there was no manual for caring for lions, so the two young men had to put all their faith in their own instincts and life experiences to raise Christian.

Christian lives in the large basement below the furniture store, Sophistocat, which is connected to Ace and John’s workplace. Every afternoon, the two take their pet lion to the garden near their home to exercise and play.

Christian the lion was bought by Ace and John when he was a child. The animal is even extremely gentle towards children.

Christian grew very quickly and within a few months, the animal was in a size that did not fit into the cellar under the house. In addition, another obstacle in Christian is that this animal often scares customers. Ace and John begin to feel for the lion’s future.

One day, Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna visited the Sophistocat furniture store to shop for a few items. It is known that these are the 2 actors who played in the 1964 movie Born Free, telling the true story of George and Joy Adamson trying to bring the lioness Elsa back to the natural world. This film achieved a lot of success.

Just like most people, Bill and Virginia find Christian very beautiful and attractive. They suggested that Ace and John contact George Adamson to return Christian to the natural world in Kenya.

Return to Kenya

It was a fact that Ace and John had never thought about. On Christian’s side, the animal is about to turn a year old and is getting stronger and stronger. After that, Christian left London and moved to live with actor Bill Travers’s house in the countryside. Here, the animal lives in a cage set up in the yard. George Adamson, who expressed a keen interest in the fifth-generation European lion Christian, went to great lengths to return the animal to the natural world where it belonged. He has been in talks with the Kenyan government about finding a safe area for Christian over the course of several months. Eventually, they chose a piece of land located in Northeast Kenya called Kora based on a variety of factors including locals, tourists and hunters.

The documentary The Lion at World’s End and Christian the Lion documenting Christian’s journey back to Africa in 1970 was made. After arriving in Kenya, Christian’s first challenge was to meet Boy, the adult male lion who appeared in the movie Born Free. This animal, after being injured, was returned to live in the natural world.

During this time, many photographers came to Kora to capture Christian’s photographs, photos that still make people swoop decades later.

Legacy of Christian the Lion

George always had a lot of affection for Christian and described the animal as mischievous, cheerful, and courageous. A year later, in 1971, Ace and John traveled to Kenya to see Christian again. Previously, experts advised the two not to visit the animal because their lives could be threatened in case Christian no longer remembers his two owners. However, Ace and John ignore all advice and decide to go find Christian.

It was a special and unforgettable reunion. As soon as he saw Ace and John, Christian rushed to hug the two former owners one after another. Although it didn’t show any emotions, the animal’s actions said it all, it jumped on Ace and John’s body, and put its head in the loving arms of the two of them. As for Ace and John, they are extremely happy that their pet has never forgotten them.

40 years later, the clip uploaded to Youtube attracted tens of millions of views and appeared on major shows such as Oprah Winfrey, The View, Ellen (more than 100 million views). All of them have contributed to introducing Christian to a new generation of audiences, thereby helping people feel more interested in the natural environment, environmental issues and animal welfare.

It is known that Christian often left the residence that George Adamson had built for him. Usually, the animal returns after a short period of wandering, but gradually, the time it is away from “home” is getting longer and longer. The last time Christian was seen was in 1973 as he headed towards Meru National Park.

After years of living in the wilderness full of dangers, Christian has become huge, increasingly intelligent and courageous. This makes Ace and John believe that the animal can live well for many more years. Even if they were more lucky, Christian’s descendants still exist today.

Later, George Adamson continued his mission to return other lions to their natural environment and monitor their lives until his death in 1989.

Christian’s life was the inspiration for the George Adamson Wildlife Conservation Fund, which operates primarily in Mkomazi National Park. The director, Tony Fitzjohn, was George Adamson’s assistant and worked during Christian’s time in George’s garden in Kora. Now, Tony is considered one of the most successful conservation project implementers in Africa. He once said that it would never have happened without Christian. That lion is the origin of everything.

source: We heart, Kenya Safari