The Heartwarming Story Of The Lion Christian

This story of the lion Christian is a surprising tale of the love that can arise between humans and other animals. It is a real story that has been documented and that raises some issues that are still unresolved.

It all started in London in 1969. A couple of young Australians named John Rendall and Anthony “Ace” Bourke went shopping at Harrods. To their surprise, they found a lion cub for sale. It was just a kid and the owner wanted to get rid of him because he had ruined his goods the night before.

The boys bought the lion and took it home. Together with a couple of friends, they started looking after him and they noticed that he was very social and handsome. When the little kid became a year old, it was no longer possible to get it into the house. They then decided to take it to a furniture store that they ran. It 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 rapid pace. In a short time, it was impossible to have him in the furniture store. He did not fit in and he unknowingly caused a lot of destruction everywhere.

Then they went to a friend who was a priest and asked him to let Christian stay in the parish church. The pastor accepted this.

The lion Christian continued to grow. He was already an adult and ate insatiably. Maintaining his diet cost a fortune to his human friends.

They began to understand that it would soon be impossible to get permission to have him in London. He was, after all, an animal. What if he became dangerous? He was always very kind, but you never knew…

Two actors visited Christian and suggested that they give him to George Adamson, a famous environmental activist from Kenya. He would take him to his natural surroundings and let him live like a real lion. The boys agreed, though not without feeling great grief. It was best for everyone.

Christian returns to the jungle

They agreed to take Christian to Kora National Park in Kenya. It was the ideal place for him to start a new life. His friends reunited him with another older male lion, whom everyone called “Boy”.

He also joined them with a female lion, to form a new flock. Shortly after, the animals moved away from humans until one day they did not return.

A year after this, Rendall and Bourke took the initiative to visit their friend, the lion Christian. It was a bit of a crazy idea. He had already returned to his habitat and was now acting like an ordinary lion.

At least they wanted to at least see him, knowing he was okay. The environmental activist 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 calling Christian, but he did not show up right away. Finally, a lion was seen standing and looking carefully from the rocks. The boys kept calling his name.

Soon the lion responded and went out to meet his old friends. Against all odds, he remembered them perfectly. He threw himself over 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 the jungle. 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, in any case.

Not knowing how, or why, but one day before the boys’ arrival, Christian returned to the places around Kora. The same scene as at the first meeting was repeated the next day.

The lion looked at them carefully first and then he hurried into the arms of them as if he were the same puppy they had bred. The only difference was that he had already doubled in size since the last time they had seen him.

The story of the lion Christian and his human friends became a documentary containing real images. They also wrote a novel based on his story, and countless articles have been written in various newspapers and magazines around the world.

There are still no definitive explanations for this unique and wonderful relationship between an “animal” and a couple of boys who decided to give their love and more importantly, to understand his future needs.