Richardson's work for lion conservation, including drawing public attention is extremely important. Let me start by saying that I do not have any personal knowledge of Richardson, his work, or his sanctuary. However, I conduct similar research on human animal interactions with great apes, so I feel I can comment with some knowledge.

In regards to the videos and the question asked, I see a few issues.

1) Are these videos legitimate records? Yes & No. The videos are actual interactions between Richardson and the lions under his care. But the videos released to the public were shot, edited, and presented for a specific purpose. It is likely that the videos released have been specially selected to show only content in agreement with the proposed message (positive interaction). So these videos are legitimate in the sense that they are authentic or genuine. However, they are likely biased to some degree.

2) Are these videos records of interactions with free-ranging lions? Again, yes & no. These are videos of lions that range free within the lion sanctuary that Richardson runs and lions with extensive exposure to and experience with humans (especially Richardson). So the lions in these videos do not likely experience the same encounters and interactions with humans that wild lions may experience (although they may have in the past. Further, the videos are likely not representative of interactions that would occur between humans and lions who have not been regularly exposed to humans. So these videos cannot be called representative of human-lion interactions in general.

3) Finally there is an issue the relationship between Richardson and these lions. Richardson has a shared history with these lions, so there is an individualized relationship (which is not representative of how these lions perceive, or would interact with, other humans generally). If the videos are taken at face value - there is clearly a strong, positive, supportive relationship underlying these interactions. I'd further characterize Richardson's relationship with these lions as a human-animal bond with, which goes beyond positive relationships and entails safety, trust, and some degree of emotional connection. So again, while these videos represent actual, factual interactions between at least semi-free-ranging lions and a specific human with whom they share a strong, positive, personal relationship, these videos are not representative of general lion-human interaction. That does not make them any less awesome (dictionary awesome, not 1980/90s slang awesome).

I've seen similar interactions between humans and apes in zoos, in rehabilitation programs, and in research (with both captive and wild apes). While these are definitely legitimate interactions, they are still individualized and not representative of the general case of ape-human interaction in any of these contexts. That's my two cents (and then some). I hope that provides some perspective on the question and maybe stimulates some additional discussion.

Thanks for the detailed answer. I had never heard of Richardson (being more of an ape man myself). From what I knew about lions (from other people's work) I was somewhat suspicious of the intimate relationships, especially with adult males. The pop article I saw described the lions as "wild." If they're free-ranging but were accessible to Richardson for interactions from the time they were cubs, it's much easier to accept (though it still seems risky). Thanks again for the information, and for using "awesome" correctly.

Hi Prof. King,

I don't know much about this either - other that popular press. I know there was a movie about a human raised lion some time ago. I'm not sure what the status of all the lions on this preserve/sanctuary is. I've seen press that says 38 lions, but the interactions are always with many fewer. All the science literature is about human-lion conflict. I think I've seen other, similar big cat-human interactions released by zoo or cat sanctuaries. John Aspinal promoted human-animal interaction at Howletts (in the UK), but with mixed outcomes. From the Telegraph (June 2000): "His most controversial policy was encouraging keepers to develop close relationships with the animals. . . . But there was a price. In 1980, Aspinall was forced to shoot a Siberian tigress that killed two keepers at Howletts. Four years later a keeper was crushed to death by an Indian bull elephant in Port Lympne. In 1994 the head keeper at Howletts was killed by a Siberian tiger."

I'd love to see an independent, scientific review/study of Richardson's relationships with these lions. Thanks for the great question.