On Hug Day, let's be thankful for those hugs that mean a lot but we might take for granted - the ones from our pets. While many of us count cats and dogs as loved family members, Ace Bourke and John Rendall had a very unusual 'pet' - Christian the lion.
Christian was bought from Harrods (Yes really! They once sold 'everything') by Bourke and Rendall in 1969. He lived with the two men in their London home and then in the basement of their furniture store until he grew too big to be kept as a pet. With the help of conservationist George Adamson - who raised another famous lion, Born Free's Elsa - Christian was taken to Kenya and released into the wild.
Nine months later, Bourke and Rendall journeyed from London to Kenya to visit Christian, despite being warned by Adamson that the now-wild lion may not remember his old friends.
Guess what? He did. And their reunion is one of the most watched and adored videos available.
Don't believe us? Watch the aww-inducing hug between Christian the lion and his two human friends yourself:
Christian was bought from Harrods (Yes really! They once sold 'everything') by Bourke and Rendall in 1969. He lived with the two men in their London home and then in the basement of their furniture store until he grew too big to be kept as a pet. With the help of conservationist George Adamson - who raised another famous lion, Born Free's Elsa - Christian was taken to Kenya and released into the wild.
Nine months later, Bourke and Rendall journeyed from London to Kenya to visit Christian, despite being warned by Adamson that the now-wild lion may not remember his old friends.
Guess what? He did. And their reunion is one of the most watched and adored videos available.
Don't believe us? Watch the aww-inducing hug between Christian the lion and his two human friends yourself:
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