life with the lions

 in the early 1970s hollywood  actress  herded  and her family  including her then 14, year old daughter melanie  Grffith  invited a full - grown lion called Neil into their California  home for  photo shoot. Tipi and her husband noel marshall  were in the process of sourcing larger number of exotic big cat for their movie  Roar an experience that would change their views on keeping exotic animals forever. Tipi hired neil from ron  oxley  who  lived in soldedad  canyon. She wanted to make a family movie entitled roar using 25 lions tigers and other  big cat and order to know lions. She and her family invited a number of young cubs to live at their house. Even  small lions can be dangerous however  and one scratched  meanie griffiths  face with its claws. They also tore up the house. melanie later said  she didn't  mean to hurt me but after seven years  growing up with lions . I forgot you hear to be carful just  a blow can pop your head like a p ping pong ball. The family then  moved with the lions  to mountain  roach  to film roar. It was panful experneience. tippi had her arm badly scratched by a leopard and director of photography  Jan de boot survived  a porticouarly  dangerous incident. The cameramen he'd positioned  themselves in a camouflaged pit over which the  lions  were to run for a shot of stampeding big protected with football hemet. when the lions rushed by . one of  the lions  saw movement  and lashed out with paw  tearing off  de  Bonts  scalp- protected  removed his helmet to get a better shot. The organ pan was to  shoot roar in nine months but filming the big cat eventually took five years and the film was not released until 1981. Tippis  experience  with big cat during the filming of  roar convinced  her that such animals not be in close contact  with humans so she turned the ranch where it was filmed into the shamble preserve  dedicated to the protection of exotic animals rescued from private collections since opening  shambala has recused  230 such animals. although the lions int the pictures here appear to  be tame , Tippi  now warns that there is no such thing they near  lose their predators instinct and can  attackk at any time. Tippi  playing neil at her home in sherman oaks  california. Tippi and melanie inveted  lions  into  their  home at a time when the  dangers of keeping such  animals were not fully undrestood. Their experience taught them that  even big cat are always extremely dangerous and should not be kept as pet. since 1990, 254 big cats have escaped from captivity  with  134 killed, and exotic cat have killed at least 21people in captivity today  tippi  campaign against the exotic animal industry and is lobbying united states congress introduce laws restricting the breeding and buying of exotic predators by individuals which is still legal in united states. melanie griffith  jumps into the pool wilt palyfully  grabs her legs. a lions  paws are powerful  enough to  break a zebras back- something to bear in mine when playing with them as pets.