Christian The Lion
In 1969, John Rendall (now a trustee of the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust) and Ace Bourke bought a lion cub from Harrods in London. He was called Christian and was looked after by John and Ace in England for about a year. He was a magnificent animal, full of character and friendship, and an amazing bond formed between the two men and the lion. In 1970, John and Ace decided to take Christian to George Adamson in the Kora National Reserve in Kenya, where George and his assistant, Tony Fitzjohn, would rehabilitate him to the wild. His rehabilitation was a great success. Tony Fitzjohn lived and worked with George Adamson in Kora for nearly 19 years and Christian was the first lion that Tony handled, having joined George in 1970. Christian’s great personality endeared him to most humans who came into contact with him, and his life with John and Ace and subsequently George and Tony was characterized by affection and friendship. John and Ace’s extraordinary reunion with Christian, a year after they had taken him to George, was filmed and is subject of a wonderful documentary and book. The clip of the reunion was recently placed on YouTube and has received over 45 million hits!