Christian the Lion

Many of you have probably seen this video of an adult lion reunited with the two men who raised him. The story goes that these two guys, Anthony Bourke and John Rendall rescued the lion when he was just a 35 pound cub from a tiny cage in a Harrod's department store and raised him in their tiny apartment. The lion, named Christian, became a celebrity of the neighborhood, touring around town in the back of Bourke and Rendall's Bentley, exercising daily in a local churchyard, and even dining out in restaurants. Eventually, however, Christian grew too large for the men and their apartment. They decided to send him off to Kenya to be reintroduced to the wild by naturalists George and Joy Adamson.

Christian was successfully reintroduced and became the leader of his own pride. Bourke and Rendall decided to fly to Kenya to see their friend once more. They were told that Christian had become completely acclimated to the wild. They were told he would not remember them and that he would be a danger, just like any other wild lion.

This video is a true testament to the bonds that can form between animals and humans. It's a testament to the intelligence and memory of animals. Intelligence and memory that we don't always give them credit for. This is just a great video of friends being reunited. And here's the best part . . . it's all true.


Pardon the sappy music. I didn't do it.