FREE A LION CALLED CHRISTIAN BOOK ONLY PDF Jane Revell | 88 pages | 05 Apr 2010 | Scholastic | 9781905775927 | English | Leamington Spa, United Kingdom A Lion Called Christian - Official Website | Ace BourkeA Lion Called Christian His mother Mary rejected the cubs who were then hand reared by staff. A few months later he and his sister were sold to the prestigious Harrods department store in London, probably to be used for publicity for the Christmas shoppers. Ace Bourke and John Rendall were two young travellers from Australia who A Lion Called Christian Book Only just arrived in London inand on their first visit to Harrods saw and very unexpectedly bought a lion A Lion Called Christian Book Only. They named him Christian as an ironic comment on Christians being fed to the lions historically, and to challenge stereotypes. They lived with Christian in London on the Kings Road in Chelsea, and Christian fitted in very well to London at that time when owning an exotic animal was not unheard of and before the Endangered Species Act of Ace and John realised that while Christian was an exceptionally good natured, gregarious and companionable animal, they had to create a stable environment for him. There was no manual for looking after lions and Ace and John had to trust their instincts and the experience of living with family pets all their lives. Christian lived in the large basement below Sophistocat; the antique pine furniture shop where Ace and John worked. Ace and John lived in the apartment above the shop. Every afternoon Ace and John took Christian to a nearby enclosed garden for exercise and recreation. In and London photographer Derek Cattani took many superb photographs of Christian at home, in the shop and in a garden. Derek also photographed Christian in several sessions on different occasions at various locations over London. It was a quite stable if unusual! Christian grew very quickly and within months he was beginning to outgrow his environment and frighten the customers. Ace and John were becoming increasingly concerned about the scarcity of options for his future, when by chance Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna came into Sophistocat shopping for some pine furniture. Like the book, the film had been a huge international success. They suggested contacting George Adamson who could rehabilitate Christian back into a natural life in Kenya. This was an alternative Ace and John had not even dared dream of. George Adamson, who was very interested in Christian as a fifth generation European lion, would build a man-made pride around Christian for their rehabilitation back into the wild. Negotiations with the Kenyan government for a suitable area of land dragged on for several months. A site called Kora in north-east Kenya was finally chosen, based on factors which included remoteness from local villagers, tourists and hunters. Other challenges were the hostile environment and the wild lions living there, and while they appreciated the introduced lionesses, the wild lions were unrelenting in their intention to drive any males like Boy and Christian A Lion Called Christian Book Only their territory. Consequently there is a marvellous record of this charismatic and photogenic lion whose incredible life story is still fascinating people over 40 years later. The documentaries were produced by Bill Travers and Morningstar Productions, and the director was James Hill whose credits included the well known television series A Lion Called Christian Book Only Avengers. These documentaries are now available under the title of Christian the Lionand are available from the Born Free Foundation. A year later in Ace and John returned to see Christian, and their unforgettable reunion with a now much bigger lion has, forty years later, been viewed on YouTube and shows including the Oprah Winfrey show, The View and Ellen by well over million people. He was last seen in earlyheading in the direction of the more bountiful Meru National Park. As he had survived the most dangerous early years and A Lion Called Christian Book Only grown very big and was intelligent and brave, Ace and John presume Christian had his own pride of lions and lived possibly another seven or eight years. His progeny are probably living there today. George Adamson continued rehabilitating more lions at Kora documenting and observing their lives and cubs A Lion Called Christian Book Only his death A Lion Called Christian Book Only In Ace and John revised and updated A Lion Called Christianfirst published in and which now includes their return visits in and Christian’s Story – A Lion Called Christian RSS Feeds. After having been there for several months, the pair visited the pet department of Harrod's Department Store in London where they were surprised to find a couple of lion cubs for sale. Ace and John became enamored with one of the cubs who seemed A Lion Called Christian Book Only sweet-tempered and playful, and eventually decided to buy him. They dubbed the lion Christian, and for the next several months, he lived with them in the basement of the furniture store where they worked and played in the nearby churchyard. The lion in the store window became quite the curiosity to passersby, and seemed to endear himself to everyone he met. Ace and John knew they couldn't keep Christian forever though, and had begun looking for alternative living arrangements for him almost from the moment they bought him. As Christian continued to grow it became even more apparent that he would need a new place to live As luck would have it, actors Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, stars of the hit movie, Born Freeabout Elsa, the lioness's return to the wild, came into the shop one day. They too were quite taken with Christian, and offered to get in touch with George Adamson, the man who had rehabilitated Elsa. When George heard about Christian, he immediately started looking for a suitable A Lion Called Christian Book Only in Kenya to begin his rehabilitation. Bill A Lion Called Christian Book Only Virginia also wanted to make a documentary about this remarkable lion. After several months, George finally found the perfect spot to return Christian to the wild, and everyone traveled to Kenya to A Lion Called Christian Book Only the work. After spending some time at the camp in Africa, Ace and John eventually said their goodbyes to Christian and returned to England, leaving the lion in George's capable hands. Over time, Christian became one of George's success stories, but the most remarkable part of it all, was that after living in the wild for over a year, he had not forgotten his two human friends. A Lion Called Christian is a wonderful, almost serendipitous true story of how two friends from Australia purchased a lion cub from Harrod's Department Store A Lion Called Christian Book Only London inand about a year later were able to return him to the wild in Africa. Christian seemed like the most gentle, even-tempered lion one could ever hope to encounter. He also had a very big personality. I think it was that immediate bond, perhaps coupled with a little bit of daring on their part and a little enjoyment of the novelty of owning an exotic pet that fueled their purchase of Christian. Even though they had fun with the latter, Ace and John were pretty realistic right from the start, knowing that they couldn't keep Christian forever, because he would eventually outgrow their living space. Almost from the moment they bought him, the friends began looking for suitable arrangements for Christian when the time came. They hated the idea of him being in a zoo or circus and were always looking for someplace where he could be in a more natural habitat. The area in which they worked seemed to be a draw for the wealthy and celebrities, and as luck would have it, the pair had the good fortune to meet Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna, the stars of the motion picture, Born Free. Since making the movie, Bill and Virginia had been very involved in conservation efforts and making wildlife documentaries, and were able to get Ace and John in touch with George Adamson, the man who Bill had played in the movie. This set in motion a series of events which made it possible for Ace and John to return Christian to Africa to be rehabilitated into the wild. It was first published inbut apparently the book was recently updated and re-released when the video clip of their reunion with Christian a year later went viral on YouTube. The idea that a lion could not only remember them, but greet them with the same affection A Lion Called Christian Book Only exuberance that he had shown when they lived together, after spending a year in the wild, was amazing. Although Christian had a couple of frightful moments that were a stark reminder of the wild creature that he was, thankfully, no one was seriously injured, and all in all, he sounded like a wonderful animal that it would have been a pleasure to know. At that time, George Adamson physically went out looking for the lions he was rehabilitating, and eventually lost track of Christian when the lion moved too far away. It would have been nice to know precisely what became of him. Unfortunately, we can only assume, but Christian's life was a pretty remarkable one for the three years that humans knew and interacted A Lion Called Christian Book Only him. There was also a documentary made in conjunction with Christian's exodus from England and reintroduction to his natural habitat which I hope to see at some point.