The Heartwarming Story Of The Lion Christian
The story of the lion Christian is a surprising tale of the amiable love that can arise between humans and other animals. It is a true story, which has been documented, and which asks some questions that are still unanswered.
It all started in London in 1969. A couple of young Australians, named John Rendall and Anthony “Ace” Bourke, traded at Harrods. To their surprise, they found a lion cub for sale. It was just a child and the owner wanted to get rid of it because he had destroyed goods the night before.
The boys bought the lion and took it to their house. Together with a couple of friends, they started raising him and they noticed that he was very social and nice. When the little kid was 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 ran, and which, strangely enough, was called “Sophistocat”.
The sad farewell to the lion Christian
Neither Rendall nor Bourke had ever imagined that their little friend would grow at such a great pace. In a short time it was impossible to keep him in the furniture store. He did not fit anywhere, and unfortunately he caused a lot of destruction everywhere. Then they went to a friend who was a priest and asked him to leave Christian in the cemetery. The pastor agreed.
The lion Christian continued to grow. He was already an adult and ate large amounts. Maintaining his diet cost a fortune to his human friends. They began to understand that it would soon be impossible to let him live in London. After all, he was an animal. What if he became dangerous? He was always very friendly, but you never know…
Two film actors visited Christian and suggested that they leave him in the hands of George Adamson, a famous Kenyan conservationist. He wanted to take care of bringing him to his natural habitat and let him live like a real lion. The boys agreed, not without feeling very sad. It was best for everyone.
The lion Christian returns to Africa
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 Kenyan friend united him with another older male lion, who everyone called “Boy”. He was also placed with a woman to form a new flock. Little by little, the animals moved away from humans, until one day they did not return.
A year later , Rendall and Bourke took the initiative to visit their friend, the lion Christian. It was a bit of a wild idea. He had already returned to his habitat and was now behaving like a normal lion. In any case, they wanted to see him, to know that he was well. George Adamson warned them. They had to be very careful. Christian could attack them.
The young men went to the outskirts of Kora and waited for a while. Then they started shouting at the lion Christian, but he did not appear immediately. Finally, a lion was seen carefully peeking out from among the rocks. The boys kept shouting at him. Soon the lion reacted and went forward to meet his old friends. Against all odds, he remembered them. He threw himself 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, the lion Christian returned to nature. They could see that he had become king of a pack of lions. From one moment to the next he disappeared. Nothing was heard from him for more than nine months. His human friends wanted to visit him again, anyway.
Not knowing how, or why, a day before the boy’s arrival, Christian returned to wander around Kora. The same scene in the first meeting was repeated the next day. The lion looked at them carefully first and then ran towards them, as if it were the same kid they had raised. The only difference is that he had already doubled in size since the last time they saw him.
The story of the lion Christian and his human friends became a documentary containing real pictures. They also wrote a novel based on their history and countless articles in various newspapers and magazines around the world have been written. There are still no definitive explanations for this sincere and wonderful relationship between a “beast” and a couple of boys who decided to offer their love and, more importantly, to understand his future needs.
