Stuffed Lion Toy

Stuffed Lion Toy

By:


There are very few people in the world who would disagree on the beauty and power of the lion the majestic cat is after all, known as the king of the beasts. In the competitive world of soft toys, a stuffed lion toy is also a beauty in its own right, difficult not to fall instantly in love with. They are soft, oh-so-huggable plush toys, designed to represent the real thing in all its glory.

Christian is a very famous lion that came into the spotlight after a video of his former owners and him, was posted on the popular video-sharing web site, YouTube. In the video, Christian [and his original owners], were reunited with him one year after releasing him into the wild. What followed, was an amazing display of affection and recognition by the wild cat for the two men that had raised him from the time he was a cub.

Australians John Rendall and Anthony Bourke were the owners of a furniture store in London in the sixties and in 1969, they purchased a lion cub from Harrods Department Store; Harrods had acquired the wild cat from a now closed zoo park in llfracombe, a seaside resort located in Devon, England. Following a nightly escape from his cage, in which the cub destroyed merchandise in the carpet department, Harrods was anxious to sell the lion cub as quickly as possible. He was sold, in fact, to Rendall and Bourke for a mere 100 dollars.

Christian was cared for by John Rendall and Anthony Bourke and two of their friends in their private home but as he got bigger, he was moved to the men's furniture store where he was given the entire basement as his living quarters. They were given permission to walk Christian in a church graveyard by a local vicar and even took the wild cat on trips to the seaside. As Christian continued to grow and his care began to sky rocket in price, Rendall and Bourke knew that they could no longer keep the cat in London. Through visitors to their furniture store, Rendall and Bourke were given the name of George Adamson, a Kenyan conservationist who with his wife Joy, had raised and released the now famous Elsa the lion. Adamson agreed to reintegrate Christian into the wild at his compound in the Kora National Reserve in Africa, the same way as had been done with Elsa.

After a year had almost gone by, Christian was able to establish himself as the head of his own pride in Kora. After hearing from George Adamson that Christian had been successfully reintegrated into the wild, both Rendall and Bourke went to Kenya to see for themselves. They were advised by Adamson that Christian might not remember them, but to everyone's surprise, what was caught on film was an incredible reunion with a wild cat that leapt into the arms of the two men while standing on his hind legs. He wrapped his front legs and huge paws around them in an embrace and nuzzled their faces. Christian even went on to introduce his pride, two wild female lions and a cub, to Rendall and Bourke.

While we can only ever hope to have an experience like the men who raised Christian, we can live vicariously through them with our very own stuffed lion toy. While a stuffed lion toy can never take the place of the real thing, never underestimate the power of a plush toy. A stuffed lion toy will go on to be a lifelong friend and companion.

About the Author:
Angeline Hope is a collector of life size stuffed animals. You can view a selection of life size stuffed animals including stuffed lion toys at MyBigPlush.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Home-and-Family Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.