How old is John Rendall?

Answer 1

According to a Mirror.co.UK article published to the web on August 2, 2008, John Rendall and Anthony "Ace" Bourke* were 25 years old in 1969 when they purchased "Christian" (a lion cub) from Harrod's Department store's exotic pet department.

That would place their year(s) of birth somewhere in the vicinity of 1944. They would be approaching 65 years old in 2008-2009.

*Please note: Ace's last name is Bourke - not Berg. Victoria Moore, who wrote the May, 2007 UK Daily Mail newspaper article incorrectly stated/spelled Bourke's last name and the mistake has been perpetuated across YouTube, and even at Snopes.By their own account, John Rendall and Anthony "Ace" Bourke* graduated university in Australia and, as then as was (and often, still is) the common practice, came to the UK to enjoy a more cosmopolitan life.

Rendall and Bourke rescued Christian from a tiny cage at Harrod's at Christmastime, 1969 and stayed with him, first at the furniture store where they worked in Chelsea (the Sophisti-cat) and later at the World's End farm/estate in Surrey, which belonged to Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, who had founded the Born Free Foundation.

McKenna and Travers had starred as the famous wildlife conservationists Joy and George Adamson, in the 1966 film, "Born Free" and maintained close ties with Adamson until his death at the hands of Somali bandits in August, 1989.

Christian was returned to Kenya, by special permission of the Kenyan Government, after much persuasion from Bill Travers and George Adamson, sometime in the summer or fall of 1971.

The video clip seen on YouTube is part of a larger documentary film titled (UK) "Christian: The Lion At World's End." Alternate title (US) "Christian: The Lion Who Thought He Was People."

The purpose of the original documentary film was to help pay for Christian's transport and resettlement back to Kenya, and to assist in supporting the Born Free Foundation's mandate of protecting wildlife world-wide.

While the film can be seen (in 10 parts) on YouTube, the DVD version available for purchase from the Born Free Foundation is of a much higher quality and the proceeds go to support the Born Free Foundation's work world-wide.

The documentary film documents everything that occurred as it happened (except for Bill Traver's initial encounter with Rendall, Bourke, and Christian - which was a filmed reenactment).

The film continues in the UK while Christian was at the World's End farm/estate in Surrey, through his flight to Africa and then his eventual resettlement at Kora, George Adamson's camp approximately 200 miles northeast of Nairobi. The Kora Reserve area is a protected wildlife area which encompasses approximately 450 square miles.

After approximately nine months, Rendall and Bourke decided to return to Kenya to try and visit Christian, who, at this point, had successfully been reintegrated back into the wild, with a pride that included two lionesses, Mona and Lisa, who had themselves been rescued from abusive situations, and a youngster dubbed "Supercub" for his small size and impressively deep growls and roars. After several hours of tracking, Adamson, Rendall, and Bourke finally found Christian.

At the time of the 1972 reunion documentary film footage, which is the YouTube sensation, Rendall and Bourke, sporting their own lion's manes of 1970's hair, were probably about 25 years old

Note: There was a second and final reunion, which was not filmed, in 1974. Although Adamson reported that Christian had not been seen for many months, he unexpectedly, and somewhat eerily appeared, sitting on a rock, outside George Adamson's campsite at Kora, the night before Rendall and Bourke arrived in Kenya.

This second reunion occurred the next day, after which, Christian disappeared in to the Kora Reserve area and was never seen by Adamson, Rendall, or Bourke again.

George Adamson was murdered by Somali bandits in August of 1989, when he came to the aid of a German tourist who was visiting the Kora Reserve area.

John Rendall currently lives in the UK and is Trustee of the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust. Ace Bourke, lives in Australia, and is an acknowledged expert, curator, and lecturer with a specialty in Australian Aboriginal art.