Lion Called Christian by Anthony Bourke Page B

permanently discarded, and followed him with Bill and George. The country was barren, with many thorn-bushes, and totally featureless, and Christian, who had appeared so big in a London furniture shop, was dwarfed by his surroundings. It was extremely hot, and he just walked quietly, absorbing everything. Instinctively, he knew how to remove thorns from his tender paws with his teeth, and we saw that the color of his coat was a natural camouflage. He was so obviously in his rightful environment.
    Since it was a waterless region, it was unlikely that we would see any other animals. But late that afternoon a stray gombi, a large domestic African cow, came wandering toward the camp. Separated from its herd, it was looking for water or food. Christian saw the gombi and immediately began to stalk it. The animal had enormous sharp horns, and George warned us to stop Christian, for as he was so inexperienced he could easily be injured. He would not be restrained, so George raced to his Land Rover and drove between Christian and the gombi, which then ran off. Before Christian could follow it, we both grabbed him to put him in the Land Rover. But for the second time in his life he snarled a terrifying warning, and we instantly released him. The gombi had disappeared, and Christian, justifiably angry, reluctantly followed us back to camp.
    George was impressed by Christian's perfect, instinctive stalking of the gombi, and explained to us how he had fanned out in a wide semicircle, using the natural cover of the bushes. He had been correctly positioned so that the wind would not carry his scent to the gombi and alert it. George said, "We won't have any trouble adapting young Christian to the wild," and we were very proud.
    It was now eighty miles to our final camp at Kora. But the road was rough and covered with powdery volcanic dust. We had to drive very slowly. As we drew closer to the camp on the Tana River, to our relief the countryside became slightly more fertile and varied. Among other animals we saw elephants, waterbucks, and some giraffes, and Africa began to come alive for us. We drove past a village whose inhabitants were wearing simple cloth wraps, necklaces, and bracelets. They were the first Africans we had seen apparently living as they had for centuries and not wearing drab Western clothes.
    For the last twenty miles it was often necessary to use the four-wheel drive on the Land Rovers, particularly when crossing sandy riverbeds, and it was obvious why the area was sometimes inaccessible in the wet season. We arrived late in the afternoon to find the camp in an unexpectedly beautiful setting. Our tents were among the distinctive Doum palms, beside the wide Tana River. Christian's long journey was over, and we could not believe we had actually got him to where he was to live. No doubt many challenges lay ahead, like meeting the other lions and just surviving.
    George left the next morning to collect the other lions from Naivasha, and was away for several days. We were thoroughly spoiled; our tents were comfortable and insect-free, our meals were provided, hot showers were prepared, and our clothes were washed and somehow even ironed. Christian had a compound near the tents to sleep in at night. The Africans with the safari company were terrified of him, however, and if he teased them too often we had to keep him in the compound during the day, as well. Because of the heat, we were all lethargic. Christian behaved like the worst tourist, avoiding the sun and lolling on our camp beds at every opportunity, probably dreaming of cooler weather in England.
    In the early mornings before it became too hot, or in the late afternoons, we went for walks with Christian. We will never forget the freedom of just walking with him after the eight months in England so full of our imposed restrictions. He would bossily push his way in front of us and always insist on leading. But he was easy to direct and showed no inclination to wander off