Christian The Lion

One of the most popular lion names which you will come across is, Christian.

The story of Christian and his two masters Anthony Bourke and John Rendall was one of the greatest stories of man-animal relationship of all times. This story was not a work of fiction but was based on real life incident of Christian the Lion and his masters.

All this started in the year 1969, when two entrepreneurs hailing from Australia bought a cub from a pet shop. They were not interested in animals; however, after seeing the cub they decided to take him along with them. In that era, one could actually buy a wild animal like Lion, and keep it with him or her.

Anthony and John were unaware that a cub which was bought from a London store, one day will not only make them popular worldwide, but also books, movies and documentaries will be made on their experiences.
Christian was raised in a furniture store owned by the duo for almost a year. He had an interesting life; he played soccer and went for walks.

However, with passage of time he became huge and it was not more feasible to keep Christian amidst hustling-bustling life of London and thus, he had to be relocated to Kora National Park, which was situated in Kenya. John, Anthony and Christian had loads of fun when he was a cub. They used to play, fight, and eat together. They had spent quality time together. It was a very emotional decision for Anthony and John to relocate Christian in the wilds. But they realized that it was high time for Christian to get familiar with his natural habitat and thus, they contacted famous wildlife conversationalist George Adamsons. Christian quickly adapted to new animals and environment and soon formed his own pride. When Christian’s masters went to meet him, Christian immediately recognized them and this became one of the most amazing moments of reunion. It shows that Christian was also able to feel human emotions. Christian hugged his masters as if they were long-lost friends.

When John saw Christian along with his pride almost a year after his relocation, he was a bit hesitant in going near Christian as he was afraid of other lions in the pride. However, when Christian ran towards him and hugged him, all his fears were gone and he felt that he is in safest arms of the world.
“Christian” was intelligent and charismatic and none at the Harrods Department knew that one day he will become a professional model or celebrity. He was sent to the jungles in order to live a natural life, which he had missed. He was with humans since childhood, thus he had a much socialized life. To everyone’s surprise he did not face any difficulty with socializing with other lions. He quickly learnt how to live like a lion. Some wildlife lovers even called him “Father of the Lions” because of the various outstanding abilities that he possessed.
Christian spent his entire childhood among people so he had developed familiarities with environment and people.

A movie titled “Born Free” was made on Christian Life which was based on a book by George Adamsons, who had helped Christian in relocation. Like all other stories, this story too had a happy ending. Christian the Lion, is not an ordinary story telling about the adaptation of lion in wild, but a story that tells rare enduring connection between beast and man. Christian dominated the environment but he was still a playful by heart. He just wanted to be loved and that is what John and Anthony gave him.

It is incredible that a wild animal living in dense jungles would remember people who loved him or who cared for him in the past. The hug which is very famous became a symbol of greatest reunions. There are various books, albums, movies, documentaries which are based on this real-life incident. You must read this story as it will show you that how emotions, no matter whether in human or animal, can do wonders and can defy all logical explanations.

Today, we don’t really know whether Christian is alive or not, but yes he has given this world a story which everyone of us will cherish for a very long time.