In 1969, two young Australians, John Rendall and Anthony “Ace” Bourke, bought a lion cub named Christian from Harrods department store in London. They raised him in their flat in Chelsea, treating him like family — taking him for walks, playing with him, and even bringing him to social events.
When Christian grew too big for city life, they arranged for him to be released into the wild in Kenya with the help of conservationist George Adamson. A year later, against expert advice, John and Ace returned to Kenya to see if Christian would remember them.
The moment he saw them, Christian ran straight to his old friends, jumping on them with joy and hugging them. The beautiful reunion was filmed and has touched millions of hearts around the world.
