The heartwarming story of Christian the lion

John Rendall and Ace Bourke were two young
Australians living in London, going about
their own business when they stumbled upon
an advert selling a lion cub. In the 70s it
was legal to adopt exotic animals in the UK.
Harrods sold the young lion cub to the men
and they brought him up in their London flat until
he was a year old, and named him Christian.
When he got larger they moved him into the basement of their furniture store and was regularly exercised in a neighbouring graveyard.
When the lion was too big and too costly to keep maintaining, the Australians asked Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, stars of the film Born Free, what to do with the animal. They suggested the pair the ask assistance of George Adamson who with is partner Joy raised and released Elsa the lioness. He reintegrated Christian into the wild in the Kora National Reserve. It was successful, however some of the other lions in the pride that were simultaneously introduced to the wild were injured or died in the process. The pride established itself round Kora headed by Christian. In 1971 Bourke and Rendall travelled to Kenya to reunite with Christian and film it for their documentary. Christian remembered the men who had brought him up and quickly approached them to play with them and to wrap his front legs around their shoulders.
A video of event became viral in 2002 and became a worldwide sensation over 30 years after the reunion.

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