Lion Man

In the world, full of cruelty and violence, it is so hard to exist... And not only for people. Every year in the world millions of innocent animals die out, they become victims, become trophies and decorations on human bodies.

But there are angels on our earth who bear special mission, becoming keepers and defenders of disappearing animals. They believe each live being has soul, has the personality.

My report is about the person, who became an angel for Savanna world, the person who has managed to prove that wild animals have souls. This story touched me very much...

Kevin Richardson - "Lion Whisperer” 

Kevin Richardson (born 1974) is an animal behaviorist and has done extensive research on native animals of Africa. He has been acknowledged into a pack of hyenas and pride of lions. He works with hyenas and big cats such as cheetahs and leopards. He specializes with lions and runs the Kingdom of the White Lion facility in the Lion Park in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Known around the world as the "Lion Whisperer”, Richardson is also an author and film producer.

Early life 

Richardson was born in the Nightingale Clinic in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa in 1974. He spent his childhood in the neighborhood of Orange Grove. He is South African yet is of English descent. He cared for multiple animals as a kid and grew up spending most of his time in his backyard. When he was about 16, he met Stan Schmidt, through dating his daughter, and Richardson started his career as a zoologist.

Zoologist career

Richardson went to university and started learning zoology, but quit after two years after repetitive lessons on marine biology instead of mammals. Richardson started his adult life believing that he would never work with animals as a career. He thought that his work with animals would be a hobby. He started taking courses in physiology and anatomy in college and started career physiotherapy, and ended up helping people with exercise physiology. When he was 23, he came across the chance to work with two 6-month old cubs at the Lion Park near the outskirts of his home in Johannesburg. He still works with the grown up cubs, Tau and Napoleon.

Lion Care

 Richardson has worked with big cats and relies on instinct instead of static rules. He has slept next to, fed, and lived with his lions. Along with his lions, he has worked with cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. He prefers lions to any other big cat. His relationship, however, is not an instant one. Most of the lions he works with, he has known since they were cubs. He still continues his bond with Tau and Napoleon, the lion brothers that introduced him to big cats. His unique relationship with the genus Panthera has dispelled many myths concerning the care of lions. Richardson shows that lions and animals in general have personalities, feelings, and are social creatures. He shows that with mutual respect, many species can coexist together. That does not mean there are no dangers; Richardson, throughout his career, has had many close encounters.

Mission

The population of lions has dropped from about 350,000 to an estimated 25,000 in a 15 year span. Richardson hopes the media attention of his movies will raise public awareness and educate them on the conservation needed to protect Africa's animals.Lion hunts in South Africa are worth more than 90 million dollar a year says the Professional Hunters Association. 16,394 foreign hunter (more than half of which fly from the US) killed 46,000+ animals from Sept. 2006 - Sept. 2007. Trophy hunter is worth $91.2 million a year and foreign tourist sometimes pay up to $40,000 to shoot a lion. The government supports hunting because of its revenue. Provincial government sell permits to kill rhinos, lions, elephants, and giraffes. 1,050 lions were killed in 2008. White Lion hopes to give people second thoughts about participating in these events.