Christian the Lion - the original Kimba/Simba

Lion shocked at reunion with owners:




I'm sure many of you have seen the Lion King, where a little lion cub runs away from home and returns with friends that his species don't usually befriend. Before that, there was the anime by a famous Japanese animator Osamu Tezuka about Kimba the White Lion, who tried to go home to Africa but ended up befriending humans in Europe. And somewhere in between was the true story of how an urban-raised lion cub bought by 2 British men from Harrod's (this was back in the 60's) named Christian was rehabilitated into the wild. This was the clip that got me digging and researching its book, documentary, and the film whose actor and animal trainer made it all happen.


Links:
This article tells us briefly of Christian's known life:Christian, the lion who lived in my London living room

At kimbawlion.com, you can read about how Disney probably copied The Lion King off Kimba the White Lion. (Simba? Kimba? What are the chances?) Click on "Lion King?" for screen to screen comparisons and "Christian the Lion" for how Kimba happened in real life.

Look up for more on "Christian the Lion", "Born Free Foundation"

Note:
I don't want to just throw a heartwarming clip out there without sharing what I learned. As one raised in the city, don't think you can get me to lay on the grass. I'm anxious around animals too. But, I'm all in support of nature and wildlife, while doing my part to harm the environment. Humans are the most invasive and destructive species of earth. We are selfish, short sighted, and an insult to our own intelligence. Life could be much simpler, but we've escalated to a point our abilities are only doing us more harm: industrialization, technological advances, materialism, politics, religion... I'm not here to argue what's wrong and what's right. If you are religious, you would know that nature is a part of creation. If you are political, you know all campaigns are scrambling to raise their green thumbs. All the excess we generate creates pollution, depletes natural resources, and end up in the dump anyway. I'm ashamed of all the electronics I keep plugged in out of laziness and all the non-biodegradable items I surrounded myself with. I hope it's not too late that the world is realizing we are digging ourselves into a dead end. Please be more environmentally conscious.