The best video ever posted on youtube

I don’t think I have seen a youtube video that brought a lump to my throat. Collectively, judging from the comments section, it’s responsible for many a throat-lump. Even more amazingly, it’s a true story more than 30 years ago.

Before watching the video, some background info: Christian the lion was a 3rd generation London zoo lion that at a young age was separated from his parents and put up for sale at the world-famous Harrods Departmental Store in London sometime in 1969.

Two Australians living in London, Anthony “Ace” Bourke (also known as Ace Berg) and John Rendall saw him there, paid the money and brought him home. Christian was a mere few weeks old then.

The bond between human and beast became very strong, but cute lion cubs grow to become huge in no time. It was then that they decided to release Christian into the African wilderness, to become a wild lion. Within a year, he already was, heading his own pride.

Then Ace and John decided to go to Africa to visit Christian one last time.

A documentary on this was filmed sometime 1970 (some say 1974).

Excerpts of the documentary was uploaded to youtube, including that pivotal moment when Christian is reunited with his owners after about a year in the wilderness.

They actually went into the wilderness without any visible protection and apparently after being specifically informed that the lion would not remember them (read: there’s a possiblity they’d get mauled to death).

This is what happened.

The “shorter version” of the reunion, if you don’t mind Aerosmith providing the soundtrack:

Even better is the “long version” of the reunion, if you don’t mind Whitney Houston singing in the background:

Truly remarkable stuff, as it could have easily ended in tragedy, like this guy who messed around with a lion and suffered for it (WARNING: DISTRESSING, BLOODY VIDEO):

The Daily Mail (UK) described the encounter in an article published 4th May 2007:

John Rendall and Ace Berg continued to make sporadic visits to Kenya, but mostly they followed Christian’s adventures from afar.

Finally, in 1974, George Adamson wrote to say that the pride was self-sufficient. Christian was defending it. There was a litter of cubs. They were feeding themselves and rarely returned to camp.

The King’s Road lion had finally adapted to the wild.

This was a bittersweet moment for all concerned. Rendall and Ace decided to travel to Kora one last time, in the hope of being able to say goodbye, though Adamson warned them that it would almost certainly be a wasted mission.

“Christian hasn’t been here for nine months. We have no reason to think he’s dead – there have been no reports of lions poached or killed. But he may never come back,” he said.

Rendall recalls, “We said: ‘OK. We appreciate that, but we’ll come anyway and see you.’”

They flew to Nairobi then took a small plane to the camp in Kora, where Adamson came out to meet them.

“Christian arrived last night, ” he said simply. “He’s here with his lionesses and his cubs. He’s outside the camp on his favourite rock. He’s waiting for you.”

Adamson and his wife Joy often talked about the mysterious, apparently telepathic communication skills of lions – particularly between lions and men.

Both believed that lions were possessed of a sixth sense and George was convinced that a scientific explanation would one day be found.

And here, it seemed, was the proof.

“Christian stared at us in a very intense way,” says Rendall. “I knew his expressions and I could see he was interested. We called him and he stood up and started to walk towards us very slowly.

“Then, as if he had become convinced it was us, he ran towards us, threw himself on to us, knocked us over, knocked George over and hugged us, like he used to, with his paws on our shoulders.

“Everyone was crying. We were crying, George was crying, even the lion was nearly crying.”

“The lionesses were far from pleased. There was a lot of growling and spitting,” continues Rendall.

“‘George said: ‘This isn’t safe – we’d better go.’ So we each put a hand on Christian’s back and he walked with us back to camp.”

The reunion party went on all night and into the morning. Leaving his exhausted companions to go to their beds, Christian returned to his pride.

“We watched him go back to the two lionesses, who were not at all happy with this man, smelling of nicotine, whisky and humans,” says Rendall.

“He just walloped the two of them with his paw, then collapsed.”

And that was the last anyone ever saw of him.