Lion Called Christian (14 page)

Despite her reputation for being difficult and frequently falling out with people, she was reasonably friendly with us, intelligent, and interesting, and curious about Christian's background. She was relieved to hear that Boy was recovering from his injuries, although he was still limping. She was skeptical about Christian's chances of surviving in the wild. "Your stupid fat English lion will be killed, and so will George," she said. Joy was very keen to visit Kora but was annoyed at being excluded from the work there. Despite the huge earnings from
Born Free
, she never financially supported George's work. When she did visit Kora she was very anxious to be photographed with Christian, but subsequently declared, "It is time for humans to leave the lions alone." This was the conundrum of their lives: the success of their work and the independence and self-sufficiency of the animals made them redundant.

Left:
George, Ace, Christian, and John rest in the shade at George's camp.

Bottom:
Christian's first night in the African bush, and a reassuring paw on John's face.

Top:
A terrifying moment as Boy charges the wire, establishing his dominance over Christian.

Above:
The dramatic first meeting of Boy and Christian outside the compound.

Fortunately, Christian reacted correctly and submissively and suffered only a few scratches.

THE REUNION IN 1971
Above:
Christian running toward Ace and John when he recognizes them.

Top left:
Jumping up to greet Ace and John.

Far right:
Christian had doubled in size in the year since Ace and John had seen him.

In 1972, Ace and John returned to see Christian. He had again doubled in size but still remembered them and greeted them with the same affection.

Ace and John with Christian on the rock overlooking George's camp.