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Did the guys who bought a lion at Harrods in the '60s get much attention in America?

...after the old video footage of them being reunited with him became a viral hit on youtube?

(They seemed gay, but they played that detail down in England).

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by Anonymousreply 29June 21, 2018 2:01 AM

here's the famous reunion >>

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by Anonymousreply 1May 21, 2017 1:13 AM

Didn't the lion eventually end up eating both of them?

by Anonymousreply 2May 21, 2017 1:15 AM

That video makes me cry.

by Anonymousreply 3May 21, 2017 1:17 AM

Who is the assistant lion in the video?

by Anonymousreply 4May 21, 2017 1:33 AM

Yes, it was pretty big in the US. I doubted the veracity of the story, so I googled it, and, lo and behold, it is true. I worked for Harrods shortly after they bought the lion there, and, for the life of me, I just didn't remember them having a wild animal department. Maybe it had been closed before I got there, in the late 70's.

by Anonymousreply 5May 21, 2017 1:34 AM

[quote]Maybe it had been closed before I got there, in the late 70's.

Yes, I think they brought in a law.

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by Anonymousreply 6May 21, 2017 1:36 AM

How odd that one of the women in the clip has on a leopard coat. It looks so funny now to see women wearing fur. PETA did a great job educating us on how cruel that is.

by Anonymousreply 7May 21, 2017 2:00 AM

The picture in the OP and the YouTube video both came from a documentary on Christian's life. (It's variously known as "The Lion at World's End," "Christian the Lion" and "The Lion Who Thought He Was People.") It's fascinating to watch the long process they went through to prepare Christian for the trip to Africa, followed by his "rehabilitation." The people at the wildlife sanctuary pretty much had to teach him how to be a lion. The link is for the documentary's IMDB page.

By the way, that YouTube video should be required viewing for anyone who claims cats have no long-term memory.

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by Anonymousreply 8May 21, 2017 2:22 AM

Did Christian survive in the wild, R8?

I think he had a family.

by Anonymousreply 9May 21, 2017 2:28 AM

Harrods would have ordered it for them. The Dangerous Wild Animals Act was passed in 1976, so it wouldn't have been possible after then.

by Anonymousreply 10May 21, 2017 2:29 AM

[quote]Harrods would have ordered it for them.

No. They saw him in a cage in the pet department and felt sorry for him - so they bought him and took him home.

by Anonymousreply 11May 21, 2017 2:30 AM

I saw the documentary. We bought our Westie at Harrods back in '71 (I was VERY young) and I recognised the woman who sold them the lion....all these years later.

by Anonymousreply 12May 21, 2017 2:33 AM

I'm sure the guys were a gay couple. Just them living together - no GFs. A couple of their faghags appeared in the documentary.

by Anonymousreply 13May 21, 2017 2:35 AM

He was SO adorable.

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by Anonymousreply 14May 21, 2017 2:38 AM

[quote]Did Christian survive in the wild, [R8]?

Yes, he did, and had his own pride at the time of the reunion in the YouTube video.

In an interview done with the two guys after the video became so well known, they said that Christian probably had a normal life span, but they lost track of him after a couple years. In the documentary, if I remember correctly, they said a lion's normal life span is 15 to 20 years in the wild, but up to 30 (deadly boring) years in captivity. In any case, Christian would definitely not still be living.

by Anonymousreply 15May 21, 2017 2:39 AM

You could buy whatever animal you wanted from Harrods.

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by Anonymousreply 16May 21, 2017 2:43 AM

Ant eater.

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by Anonymousreply 17May 21, 2017 2:43 AM

This is.. WILD in every sense of the word. I had no idea about this wacky history at Harrods. BTW, am I understanding the chronology of that reunion video correctly? That was a reunion with Christian AFTER he'd been reintroduced to the wild? Man, that shows a great deal of faith to just stand there while Christian comes charging toward them. Good memories or not, if he's a wild animal at that point, anything could happen!

by Anonymousreply 18May 21, 2017 2:46 AM

[quote]That was a reunion with Christian AFTER he'd been reintroduced to the wild?

Yes, they went back to England and returned a year later and he raced down to greet them.

by Anonymousreply 19May 21, 2017 2:50 AM

I'm sorry... is this Harrods the department store?

by Anonymousreply 20May 21, 2017 2:53 AM

yes.

by Anonymousreply 21May 21, 2017 2:53 AM

he became a commercial model to help pay for his keep

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by Anonymousreply 22May 21, 2017 2:55 AM

love is real

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by Anonymousreply 23May 21, 2017 2:58 AM

R6 that's insane. I'm surprised the leopard didn't maul those dogs in the park. I'm surprised the leopard didn't maul his owner!

I can't believe only 40 years ago, people thought it was ok to keep a wild carnivore as a pet.

by Anonymousreply 24May 21, 2017 3:04 AM

[quote] I'm surprised the leopard didn't maul those dogs in the park

The leopard had its claws and fangs pulled out.

by Anonymousreply 25May 21, 2017 4:06 AM

[quote]I can't believe only 40 years ago, people thought it was ok to keep a wild carnivore as a pet.

Unbelievable.

by Anonymousreply 26June 21, 2018 1:37 AM

Imagine the uproar (no pun) had that dentist killed Christian instead of Cecil.

by Anonymousreply 27June 21, 2018 1:52 AM

When I was a little kid, you could buy baby alligators at Sears in my hometown - they had a pet department with aquariums and stuff. 100% not kidding.

by Anonymousreply 28June 21, 2018 2:00 AM

Remember Cecil the Lion, that Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer tortured and killed?

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by Anonymousreply 29June 21, 2018 2:01 AM
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