Christian the Lion

Some news stories just move me greatly and touch my heart deeply. This one, a little piece about Christian the lion, which I caught on MSNBC a few mornings ago, made my day so much brighter. The co-anchor reporting the story mentioned that a video about it was posted on You Tube and had over two million hits already.

Curious as a cat, I flew over to my computer, launching the site. I saw many versions of this heartwarming tale about a lion, released into the wild in Africa, after becoming too large to continue living with the men who bought him as a cub. After a thorough search, I found one that was simply amazing. It tells the whole story from beginning to end. I was mesmerized watching, and felt my heart open, with tears of joy and love running down my cheeks.

Christian as a cub with his owners

Of course, I love all cats. I am absolutely fascinated by the big cats. In addition, I am amazed at the similarities in the behaviors of our domestic cats to the big ones. Felines are truly amazing creatures.

When Christian was a cub, two best friends bought him in Harrods, a department store. They kept him in their antique shop, but he soon grew too large to remain in the store. When he was 18 months old, he was transferred to George Adamson's Kenyan wildlife sanctuary. The sanctuary was featured in the popular film, "Born Free."

A year later, John Rendall and Anthony Bourke made a trip to visit Christian. Warned not to get too close to the cat for fear they would be injured, the two men paid no heed, and continued their search throughout the sanctuary.

As soon as Christian spied them, he quickly rushed to greet them, leaping on them, giving them huge lion hugs and kisses. The other lions who were living in the same pride also accepted the men.

Since the video was posted on You Tube, it has received over seven million hits.

While this story is not breaking news, apparently it is once again being brought to life. Of course, I purchased the DVD immediately. Sold through an English outlet, they are available for shipping to the US. The cost is about $22.00. THE DVD, "CHRISTIAN THE LION AT WORLD'S END" can be purchased at http://www.bornfree.org.uk/shop/acata with a portion of the proceeds helping to save more of the world's wild life through the Born Free Foundation.

I suspect that, just like one of my all time favorite films,” Born Free", it is one that I know I will watch over and over.

After you watch this enchanting video, please leave a comment and share your feelings.