In the 1970′s, actress and model Tippi Hedren (mother of actress Melanie Griffith) created the Shambala Preserve after producing the film Roar. The preserve rescued exotic big cats living in captivity that had been abused or were in need of help, one of which the family created a close bond with. Neil the lion lived with the family in their home, and played an active role in the day to day activities of the preserve.

Baka pygmies in their forest home preparing food in, Sangha Forest, Central African Republic, February 2016. Here, in their forest home, traditional life continues in the face of multiplying challenges ranging from poachers, to ill health. Deep in the rainforests of central Africa lives one of the world’s most mysterious tribes. (Photo by Susan Schulman/Barcroft Images)

Young men play basketball on an improvised court wedged between a construction site and the shells of once grand colonial homes in Havana, July 20, 2015. As much as the young in Cuba welcome political opening and economic reform, such changes are unlikely to filter down to their lives anytime soon. (Photo by Meridith Kohut/The New York Times)

An Emperor Tamarin monkey, native to the Amazon rainforest, experiences its new home in the living rainforest enclosure at ZSL London Zoo on March 25, 2010 in London, England. Entitled “Rainforest Life” the large temperature and humidity controlled bio-dome is home to free-roaming monkeys, sloths, tree anteaters and tropical birds. The exhibit, which is opening in the International Year of Biodiversity, will be open to the public from March 27, 2010. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

A Slovakian company has designed an egg-shaped and cozy micro-home that should work ideally for anybody who wants to “go off the grid” and “live off the land” – the Ecocapsule.

A golden huddle by Minqiang Lu, China. Two females and a male golden snub-nosed monkey huddle together to keep warm in the extreme cold. Threatened by forest loss and fragmentation, this endangered species is confined to central China. Restricted to living high up in the temperate forests, these monkeys – here in the Qinling mountains in Shaanxi province – feed mostly in the trees, on leaves, bark, buds and lichen. In heavy wind and snow, Minqiang walked up the mountain carrying his equipment. He stayed for half an hour in temperatures of –10C opposite the tree where the group was huddled before achieving this eye-level composition. (Photo by Minqiang Lu/Wildlife Photographer of the Year)

Back in 2010, French photographer Antoine Bruy began hitchhiking around Europe without any fixed route. Along his travels, he met people who had entirely abandoned city life in favour of an isolated country existence they found more fulfilling. Bruy began seeking out people who lived off-the-grid. After three years on the road, staying in makeshift houses and on community farms, he has released Scrublands, a documentation of the lifestyle. While each living situation is different, Bruy found that all the people he met shared a common desire to escape the rat race and achieve a quieter life in harmony with nature. (Photo by Antoine Bruy)

A visitor relaxes in a sleeping module at Tokyo's tube Hotel “Capsule Inn Akihabara” on February 6, 2007 in Tokyo, Japan. The two-square-meter sleep modules are equipped with a TV, Radio and Wireless LAN and are priced at 3500 yen per night. Uptil recently it has mainly been the office workers who stay at such tube hotels when they cannot go home, but recently they are attracting many foreign travellers due to their Japanese style. (Photo by Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images)