The Lion in the Church

[tv star collector]

BOLIVAR PENINSULA, Texas (AP) -- Many years from now, a small group of
Hurricane Ike survivors will probably still be telling the story of how, on the
night the storm flattened their island, they took sanctuary in a church -- with a lion.

The full-grown lion was from a local zoo, and the owner was trying to drive to
safety with the animal when he saw cars and trucks stranded in the rising
floodwaters. He knew he and the lion were in trouble.

He headed for the church and was met by a group of residents who helped the lion wade inside, where they locked it in a sanctuary as the storm raged.
The water crept up to their waists, and two-by-fours came floating through
broken windows. But the lion was as calm as a kitten.

When daylight came, everyone was still alive.

"They worked pretty well together, actually," said the lion's owner, Michael
Ray Kujawa. "When you have to swim, the lion doesn't care about eating
nobody."

At the Baptist church on Bolivar Island where the lion spent the night, Richard
Jones, a shrimper, said he wasn't afraid of the beast.

"That little old fella is just as tame as a kitten," Jones said.

After the storm passed, the lion's caretakers fed it pork roast to keep it happy. National Guardsmen dropping off food and water lined up Tuesday in
the choir loft to get a glimpse of the lion, and the soldiers jumped back when
the lion looked up from its perch on the altar and snarled.

-- Allen G. Breed

[80sTrivia]

Wow... what an amazing story...

[Ohio8]

[Chocoholic]

There's a story about two men who raised a lion as a cub, sent it to Africa, and went to visit him sometime later and he greeted them like a dog greets its owner. I saw the video somewhere.

[TripperFan]

Originally Posted by ChesneyLady

There's a story about two men who raised a lion as a cub, sent it to Africa, and went to visit him sometime later and he greeted them like a dog greets its owner. I saw the video somewhere.

Yeah - the clip is on YouTube also - it's a fully grown male lion but looked like a kitten when they came to his compound.

If you ever get the chance, watch a great movie from the 60's - called "Born Free". It's a true story of a married couple who had to adopt 3 orphaned cubs when their mother had been shot. They raised them all, but it focuses especially on "Elsa" - the runt of the litter. She ends up growing up, they set her free (after teaching her how to hunt a "be a lion"). To the day she died, she would come back to visit the couple and brought her own litters of cubs with her.

Just amazing, regal animals. I would think for the most part, if a big cat has a full belly, you've probably got a fairly docile, loving kitty!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adYbFQFXG0U

[tv star collector]

Born Free was a great movie and a great book (I read the Reader's
Digest condensed version back in the 1960s. I also read the sequel,
Living Free (which was also made into a movie).) There was even a
short-lived NBC-TV series, starrring Gary Collins and Diana Muldaur. Lions are
beautiful creatures.

[TripperFan]

Yep - I've seen them all too. I don't think I can watch the two Born Free movies without crying - to this day!

(side note - remember the whole Andy Williams album with the soundtrack - my parents had it - it's probably still in the basement of my old house right now - hehe)

[Dude111]

Originally Posted by Ohio8

Ahhhhhhhh is that the lion in the story??

Shes adorable


Poor thing.... Im glad she was saved!!


Beautiful story.....