A lion called Christian

[overloaded]

What did you think?

[Dog_ger]

missed it

[A Mum]

Well....

I thought it was cute, amazing and interesting,
but at the same time I thought, what are they doing with a pet wild animal??
(I missed the start... how did they come to have a 'pet' lion??)

Interesting stuff though, especially how his lion instincts kicked in when he faced up against the male lion,
Although it probably wouldn't be hard to work out that you had to be submissive if a big lion like that was coming at you

Also, I thought cats had bad memories, was really surprised that he remembered them after 12 months

All my son said was "What a stupid name for a lion"

[Cambridge Clarrie]

Great show. What an amazing bond between man and beast!

Imagine driving down King William Street, looking at the van next to you and seeing a lion in the passenger seat! The sixties sure must have been crazy times...

[MatteeG]

Saw the last bit- was amazing in parts.

Thought it was ironic they went to a 'camp' in Africa

[trev]

(I missed the start... how did they come to have a 'pet' lion??)

They bought it from Harrods for 250 guineas (about $7300 today)
Imagine seeing one in Myers!

[zipzap]

Can someone give a summary what this was all about? I heard people talking about it but it passed me by completely

[Kahuna]

Can someone give a summary what this was all about? I heard people talking about it but it passed me by completely

In the 60s 2 gents bought a captive bred lion cub from a department store in London as a pet. Grew too big as lions do and they didn't know what to do with it. Finally got returned to the wild by the "Born Free" bloke. A year or so later they went to see how he was doing and they had an emotional reunion with the lion.
Search Youtube for "Christian the Lion". Well worth a look.

edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNTdWbVBgc

[A Mum]

Watching that clip with the music in the background gave me goosebumps !!

Really is amazing when you think about it

[heater31]

Can someone give a summary what this was all about? I heard people talking about it but it passed me by completely

In the 60s 2 gents bought a captive bred lion cub from a department store in London as a pet. Grew too big as lions do and they didn't know what to do with it. Finally got returned to the wild by the "Born Free" bloke. A year or so later they went to see how he was doing and they had an emotional reunion with the lion.
Search Youtube for "Christian the Lion". Well worth a look.

edit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNTdWbVBgc

think you will find two Aussie Blokes found him in Harrods in 1970. They took him back to their flat with a shop below that they were running. the Lion slept in the basement of the building. By 1971 he was too big and need to find a more suitable home either a zoo or similar thankfully he was re educated and released into the wild

[lincolnsdirtysecrets]

wasn't it good to see a real life story instead of Bones, NCIS, Grays Anatomy, Boston Legal, ect and all that crap.

Well done

[Dirko]

OK, hands up for those that harboured some evil thought about the lion rippping the shit out of the blokes when they went back...

I know I did....

[The Yetti]

Well....

I thought it was cute, amazing and interesting,
but at the same time I thought, what are they doing with a pet wild animal??
(I missed the start... how did they come to have a 'pet' lion??)

Interesting stuff though, especially how his lion instincts kicked in when he faced up against the male lion,
Although it probably wouldn't be hard to work out that you had to be submissive if a big lion like that was coming at you

Also, I thought cats had bad memories, was really surprised that he remembered them after 12 months

All my son said was "What a stupid name for a lion"

A Mum.
Perhaps if you talked some history to A Son and he knew how many Christians were sent to the Lion Den, it makes Cristian a very appropriate name for a lion.

[JK]

OK, hands up for those that harboured some evil thought about the lion rippping the s***t out of the blokes when they went back...

I know I did....

[aceman]

Watching that clip with the music in the background gave me goosebumps !!

Really is amazing when you think about it

I didn't see it but I hope the music was "Born Free" by Matt Munro. Very apt I would have thought.

[Pseudo]

OK, hands up for those that harboured some evil thought about the lion rippping the s***t out of the blokes when they went back...

I know I did....

When I saw the words "Lion" and "Christian" in the telly guide, I immediately thought "oh goody, a documentary on the ancient Romans!"

[Magpiespower]

Great story.

Surely Hollywood has already snapped up the movie rights?

They bought it from Harrods for 250 guineas (about $7300 today)
Imagine seeing one in Myers!

When I went there as a kid you could still buy alligators and other wild beasts in the 'exotic' section of their pet store.

Except they only had photos and not the real McCoy on display...

[Baron Greenback]

OK, hands up for those that harboured some evil thought about the lion rippping the s***t out of the blokes when they went back...

I know I did....

Yeah I was in that boat! Haha.

[Cambridge Clarrie]

:ymapplause: wasn't it good to see a real life story instead of Bones, NCIS, Grays Anatomy, Boston Legal, ect and all that crap.

Well done

Spot on LDS, couldn't agree more...