The touching story of Christian, the lion

The story of Christian, the lion, is one of the most surprising about the endearing love that can arise between man and other animals.. This is a true story, which is documented through various media and which raises some still unresolved questions.

It all started in London, in 1969. A pair of young Australians, named John Rendall and Anthony “Ace” Bourke, went shopping at Harrods department store. To his surprise , they found that a lion cub was for sale. I was just a baby and the owner wanted to get rid of him because he had spoiled his merchandise the night before.

The boys bought the lion and took it to their own house. Together with a couple of friends, they began to raise him and noticed that he was very sociable and friendly. When the little puppy turned one year old, it was no longer possible to have him in the house. They then decided to take him to a furniture store that they managed themselves and which was curiously called “Sophistocat” (something like “meeting the cat”).

The sad goodbye of Christian, the lion

Neither Rendall nor Bourke ever imagined that their little friend would grow at such a fast pace. so accelerated. Before long it was impossible to keep it in the furniture store. It no longer fit anywhere and, unintentionally, it caused a lot of damage everywhere. That’s why they went to a friendly priest and asked him to let him stay in the parish cemetery. The priest agreed.

Christian, the lion, continued to grow. He was already an adult and he ate wildly. Maintaining his diet cost his human friends a fortune. They began to understand that soon it would be impossible to allow him to live in London. After all, he was a beast. What if he became dangerous? He was always very friendly, but you never knew…

Two film actors visited Christian and They suggested to the owners that they put it in the hands by George Adamson, a famous Kenyan conservationist. He would be in charge of taking him to his natural habitat and allowing him to live like a true lion. The boys agreed, but not without feeling great sadness. It was the best for everyone.

Christian returns to the jungle

The young people agreed to take Christian to Kora National Park, in Kenya. It was the ideal place for him to start a new life. His conservationist friend reunited him with another, older male lion, whom everyone called “Boy.” He also united them with a female, to form a new herd. Little by little the animals began to distance themselves from humans, until one day they no longer came back..

One year after this, Rendall and Bourke took the initiative to go visit their friend Christian. He was a little crazy. He had already returned to his habitat and was now acting like an ordinary lion. Anyway, the boys wanted to at least see him, to know that he was okay. The conservationist alerted them. They had to be very careful. Christian could attack them.

The young people went to the surroundings of Kora and waited for a while. They then started calling for Christian, but he didn’t show up soon. Finally, a lion was seen peeking cautiously between the rocks. The boys kept calling him. Quickly, the lion reacted and went out to meet his old friends.. Against all odds, she remembered them perfectly. She threw herself at them, hugged them and licked their faces. All this was recorded on video.

A story without answers

A year later something even more extraordinary happened. After the last meeting, Christian went back into the jungle. They were able to verify that he had become king of a pride of lions. From one moment to the next, he disappeared. He was not heard from again for more than nine months. His human friends wanted to visit him again, in any case.

Without knowing how, or why, One day before the boys arrived, Christian once again went around the places surrounding Kora.. The next day the same scene from the first meeting was repeated. The lion looked at them cautiously at first and then pounced on them, as if it were the same cub they had raised. The only difference was that he had already doubled in size, after the last time they had seen him.

The story of Christian and his human friends became a documentary containing real footage. A novel was also written based on his story and countless articles in various newspapers and magazines around the world. There are still no definitive explanations about this endearing and wonderful relationship between a “beast” and a couple of boys who decided to offer her their love and, more importantly, a future understanding her needs.

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