In 1969, two Australians living in London purchased a 35-pound lion cub from the exotic animal division of Harrod's department store. For a full year, John Rendall and Anthony Bourke raised the cub as their pet, permitting him to lounge freely in the furniture shop they co-owned and even join them for an occasional meal at a local restaurant. In 1972, after the lion had grown too large to properly be cared for, he was taken to Kenya and--rather remarkably--reintroduced to the wild. Two years later, Rendall and Bourke paid a visit to Kenya to see their old friend. They were told the lion would never remember them. Watch what happened.

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  • vera

    llloooovvvveeeee

  • Mish

    Love love love.... have seen this before.... many times... & I cry immediately , every time. :))))). So beautiful to see. Love IS all there is.

  • christine

    the love

  • Nikki

    Oh my goodness that video is the sweetest in the world!!!! What a relationship

  • Meenakshi

    True love has no shape or species.......its touching to see this.

  • KateAnn

    The beauty of love,acceptance, kindness and pure JOY between sentient beings!

  • sandeep chawla

    really very touching story.

  • Karen

    Touching. Thank you for sharing this and making it possible to share with others.

  • Irmgard

    Was Christian a male lion? Where was his mane? All male lions have this huge mane, but Christian doesn't seem to have one.

  • LUCKY

    I THINK I M THE LUCKY ONE AMONG OF ALL OF THEM WHO WATCHED THIS VIDEO.. IT MADE ME CRY.. FROM THE BEGNING OF MY LIFE I REALLY BELIEVE THIS THINGS, FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE.. THANKS A LOT FOR THIS VIDEO..

  • Tim

    I have heard of a similar story. A man walking through the bush of Africa, came upon an elephant that was clearly in pain. He hobbled along on 3 legs. The man slowly approached the elephant and saw the source of the elephant's pain. A branch was embedded in his left foot. The man approached closer. The elephant allowed the man to examine his left foot. After much effort the man was able to remove the painful brach from the elephant's foot. The man stepped back and the elephant trumpeted thanks to the man and went on his way. A number of years later the man was walking through the bush again and came upon a bull elephant. The elephant raised his left foot and trumpeted loudly. The man thought, could this be the same elephant he had helped many years ago? He approached the elephant slowly. The elephant wrapped his trunk around his legs and threw him to the ground and trampled him to death. . . . . .It wasn't the same elephant.

  • Anitha

    Beautiful.........

  • rrspyke

    Wow. What a moment. can't imagine it's fake. Certainly they are out in the wild. and there is the fact that the second lioness seems to accept them too. It brings me great joy to watch. I got to go hug my dogs now! Peace!

  • Gina Rosa

    This brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat, seeing this somehow makes it all worth while. If it's not real then we need to believe that it is anyway, for our own sakes. I have long been ashamed of the human race and how it treats the rest of the animal kingdom.

  • Rajendra Shah

    It is excellent and unbelievable.Thanks for such wonderful inspirational video

  • Scott

    My guess Andrea, is that if he had his own pride and since he approached first without harm, it was perceived that they didn't mean harm and were ok.

  • andrea

    HOw is it that if this lion was now wild, that the "wife" would easily approach and be approached?

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  • Widen your circle of empathy to include animals.  Practice care towards all our non-human friends.

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