Christan the lion who was rescued by two friends, John Rendall and Ace Berg, when they bought him as a cub from a department store in London in the 1960s. They raised him, but as he grew they knew they wanted to reintroduce the big cat into the wild in Africa.
They successfully did so when Christian was accepted by George Adamson wo ran a special lion conservation compound in Kenya where orphan lions were reintroduced into the wild.
Christian was adapting well to his new home and a year later John and Ace went to visit him. When the three met again they had an amazing reunion. "It was just an incredible reunion whether we were human or he was an animal was sort of irrelevant," recalls John. "It was really, really euphoric. Everyone, lions, humans felt we had shared something very special and very emotional for all of us."
I showed it to the kids, and they really enjoyed it (Especially Tati; Born Free is one of her favorite movies; And she's read about the real life Adamsons.... I knew she'd like that clip... )
I was also amazed at how affectionate, hand-raised, Panthera leo can be;
The San Diego Zoo lion was not only alert, bright golden-eyed, and hungry for ground hamburger snacks, but obviously had a bond with his human trainer/park ranger; so much so he regularly leaned into the chain-link hoping for a pitty-pat ( the big kitty-cat!)
Apparently, thier memories are long for those they love....
Apparently, thier memories are long for those they love....
My son moved out of the house over labor day weekend. Our dog (his dog) has not been himself since. He is more "lethargic" and generally moppy lately. We do engage him (he still gets up with me at 5:30am to go get the newspaper and carry it in every morning. But I believe he misses his "master" and will take some time to get used to him not being around as much.
But I am sure, the second my son comes by to visit, Apollo will go nuts seing him again, just as he does when his original master (whom he doesn't see for 6 months at a time) comes by for s visit. They do remember.
)
