The lion named Christian was bought from an exotic animals department in Harrods in 1969 by the two Australians John Rendall and Anthony Bourke for 250 guineas. They took him home and raised him in their flat.

SkyNews reports:

“The urban lion became a popular local figure in their London antiques shop, until he went from a manageable 35 pounds to 185 pounds, a year later.

Christian was moved to the Kenyan wildlife sanctuary featured in the movie Born Free, and after a year living in the wild, was found by his former owners with a pride of his own.

The 38-year-old video captures the emotional moment which shows the lion stalking towards the two men, until they call out his name.”

Watch the video:

Christian left the Kora Reserve in 1973. He made his new territory along the Tana river, but when the Wakamba herdsmen kept bringing their livestock to his hunting ground, he moved on. George Adamson said in his autobiography:

“I used to count the days on which we hadn’t seen Christian, but when they reached 97, I gave up recording them in my diary.”

Because a lion can live from 12 to 15 years in the wild, Adamson believed that Christian ended his days in the Meru National Reserve only a few miles up river.