Very remarkable story. Reaffirms my belief that it is possible to live in peace with wild animals in Jehovah's righteous new world. ( )

As a child I was a fan of Born Free so it was very interesting to me to read about Christian, the lion that was raised in London by two free spirited Australians and was later rehabilitated to be released into the wilds of Africa by none other than George Adamson himself. What an interesting true story. I enjoyed all of it, especially how they portrayed Christian as being such a cool, loving lion. I also enjoyed getting to know the Adamsons, both George and Joy as the human beings with faults that we all are. How sad that both George and Joy came to such horrible deaths, even though it sounded like Joy brought hers on herself. This is a good read! ( )

I read this book whilst similarly being charged with an infant wild animal in my care, not anything as dramatic as one of the big cats, but rather less exotic: a fledgling crow who was suffering malnutrition and had been abandoned by it's parents. It was pure chance that I began reading this book at around that time, and although quite different from Ace and John's situation in both the circumstances of the acquisition as well as scale of responsibility, I discovered in a small way quite a few similarities in our situations.
I too was surprised just how quickly and easily a young wild animal adapted to humans as it's carers. And without deliberately imposing to much anthropomorphism in to the equation, how easy it was to feel a bond growing between us that seemed to connect us on an emotional level (although my logical side reassures me that the birds excitement to see me in the morning was simply to be fed). I did however get to experience first hand just how intelligent these animals are and how quickly they learn. I can just imagine how impressed Ace and John must have been with Christian's progress as I was with Coal's.
If this book has been criticised for lacking in details on the challenges of caring for a wild animal in the rural setting of a basement in West London, I can only assume that it is because, contrary to popular perception, the actual task at hand was remarkably trouble free and dare I say unremarkable in daily routine, with few oddities beyond those mentioned in the book - as recalled by the authors on several occasions.
Finally, just like Ace and John discovered on their journey, I realised that I would require more expertise than first anticipated in order to return my animal successfully to the wild and sought out the skills of a proper wildlife hospital who, in much a similar way that George Adamson did with Christian, introduced Coal into a family group that he could form bonds with prior to release, rather than simply being set free alone into the local woodlands; where, even with hover support in the form of regular food drops, I was assured that he would have certainly perished falling victim to the other established wild groups already there.
I found many parallels in our two stories, and like with Christian, I will never know for sure if the release was a one hundred percent success. Once you let go of an animal and allow it to return to the wild the risk factor goes up as you relinquish your structured control over its life to the chaos and uncertainty of nature. The very human need for closure may never be fulfilled because most of the time, as with Katania's fate in the book, we can simply never know for sure. That is the difference between a Hollywood animal movie and a true life account.
This is a good book as well as a wake up call about attempting to interfere with nature even with the best of human intentions. Not that I don't support wildlife rescue in principle.

Reading this book also took me back to the 1970s, a different time and a very different London. For all it's faults and trappings it was a more relaxed environment to live in than the claustrophobic and soulless city of today. Sure, it wasn't perfect. It was a little more edgy to be sure, but it was also far more interesting. Each district retained it's own special pace and had local characters who had grown up in the same community who added colour and also layers of background history that created whole environments of London that had a way of life that was as individual as often walking into another world. That is what made promenading across
London and visiting different areas so worth while. Overdevelopment has destroyed a way of life that had existed for hundreds of years, and in it's place left many people feeling isolated and confused. Progress in the form of broad sweeping sudden changes like this are also destroying human environments and a whole intricate way of life that is being lost forever.
Just take a look at the many web sites and blogs where people are attempting to now connect through old photographs and sharing stories about their lost communities. It's just as sad.

Sophisto-Cat at 475 Kings Road, where Christian lived with Ace and John has long since disappeared. In fact, by the time Ace and John said their final farewell to Christian at Kampi ya Simba in 1972, the shop along with Christian's basement were very likely already demolished, along with the whole area he once knew; sitting under the new World's End Estate.

Regulations have since been put in place to prevent the open trafficking and private ownership of many exotics. But if you look closely at the state of our dwindling wildlife and the ecology of our planet in general it paints a bleak picture for the future.

The story of a Lion Called Christian is destined sooner or later to be made into a major feature film. The fact that it hasn't already is very surprising indeed. I just hope that when the day comes and contracts are drawn up, that a significant portion will be put into the GAWPT so that they may explore the possibilities of re-opening Kora National Park. ( )

The subtitle for this book really says it all. It is a true story and there was a remarkable bond between the humans and the lion.

As I read it I felt transported back to the free-spirited way of life that we enjoyed in the 1960's. It's unlikely that this story would be repeated now. People can't just walk into a store (even one as all-encompassing as Harrod's) and buy a lion cub. And it's certainly doubtful that even if one happened to have a lion cub to raise that city officials and animal rights activists and all sorts of bureaucrats would allow it to be done in a store in the middle of London. That's probably a good thing for the animals involved but it does mean that these types of stories are much fewer than previously. ( )

Nice (true) story about 2 guys that bought a lion cub from Harrod's in London, reintroduced to Africa. Loved the pix. ( )