Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke Read Free Book Online Page B

shown other sides of Longleat. We saw what an enormous commercial concern the Longleat-Chipperfield partnership had become, for apart from the lions in the Park, Mary Chipper-field provided an animal-hiring service for film and television companies. Also, some of the lions we saw were apparently part of a traveling circus. It was doubtful whether we could ensure that Christian would be introduced into a pride and live in the Park, and not be used for more obvious commercial purposes. We decided that for Christian, Longleat Safari Park was no longer a satisfactory solution.
    To send him to a zoo would have been a betrayal of faith difficult for us to live with, but much more difficult for him. We now hoped to find someone with a large country estate who would love and care for him the same way that we did. Looking for other alternatives, we visited several private zoos. They were perhaps more rural than their city counterparts, but more amateurish, and just as restricting and insensitive.
    One afternoon the actor Bill Travers came into the shop and was soon joined by his wife, actress Virginia McKenna. They had starred in the 1966 film Born Free , the story of Elsa the lioness who had been returned to the wild by Joy and George Adam-son, and the film, like the book, had been a huge hit, although we were unfamiliar with either. We assumed that their association with lions had brought them to Sophistocat. Disappointingly, they were only shopping for a pine desk, but we were unable to resist the opportunity of introducing them to Christian. They were astonished to see a lion run toward us and greet us affectionately. We talked about Christian's life with us, and they understood our dilemma about his future. They were pleased we had "rescued" Christian from a cage at Harrods but disapproved of the purchasing and trafficking in exotic animals. Since starring in Born Free they had devoted their lives primarily to producing documentaries about animal conservation. Bill and Virginia had a much wider knowledge of lions than we had, and we asked them endless questions. We were flattered when they said they would like to come and see Christian again.
    A few days later, Bill came into Sophistocat with James Hill, who was the director of the film Born Free. We wondered why James had come, and why he questioned us so extensively about Christian. We were surprised and delighted, then, when Bill invited us to dinner at his house at Leith Hill in Surrey. He said he would like to show us a documentary he had made about lions that had begun their lives in captivity.
    Dinner with film stars. It seemed fitting that James Hill should collect us from Sophistocat in his Rolls-Royce, and to the astonishment of the World's Enders, we were grandly swept down to Surrey. After dinner we watched Bill's film The Lions Are Free , showing what had since happened to the lions involved in the filming of Born Free. Twenty-four lions had been used, yet, contrary to the theme of the film, only after a long struggle by Joy, George, Bill, and Virginia was George allowed to rehabilitate three of them. None of the others would have the chance to live a natural life. In The Lions Are Free , Bill visited the three lions George had successfully rehabilitated, and although they had not seen him for three years they remembered him, and he received a fond greeting.
    The film ended with Virginia visiting Whipsnade Zoo to see Little Elsa, a lioness she had become particularly fond of during the filming of Born Free. Virginia called her name, and Little Elsa immediately recognized her and ran to the bars of the compound. How could Virginia explain why they could not greet each other as they always had? The parallel with Christian was only too apparent, with the probability that within weeks we would have to condemn him to the same meaningless existence. Sensing our feelings, Bill smiled and said: "I think we can help you solve the problem of Christian's future. We would like to