Christian was a lion purchased in 1969 by two Australians living in London, John Rendall and Anthony 'Ace' Bourke (sometimes erroneously cited as Ace Berg) — from Harrods department store.
Rendall, his girlfriend Jennifer Mary, Bourke and Unity Jones cared for the lion as it grew too large to remain their pet. After meeting Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, who starred in the film Born Free, Rendall and Bourke agreed to have Christian sent to Kenya with the assistance of conservationist George Adamson — in order that Christian be rehabilitated into the wild at Kora National Reserve.
After Christian had been in Kenya a year, Rendall and Bourke returned and visited their former pet. The animal recognized them, reared up, grasped and nuzzled both Randell and Bourke. The following video of the event received widespread dissemination around 2007-2008, more than 35 years later.
A movie titled Christian the Lion at World's End documented the relocation of Christian from England to Kenya and his successful reintroduction to the wild. After serious problems in the 1980s, Adamson and two of his assistants were murdered by poachers in 1989.
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