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.

One of the poor families collecting firewood from the street and the burn to feel some warmth in Aleppo, Syria on August 19, 2016. (Photo by Basem Ayoubi/Imageslive/ZUMA Press/Splash News)

A Somali family wades through flood waters, as they flee after overnight rains destroyed their home, in Wadajir district of Mogadishu, Somalia on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Feisal Omar/Reuters)

A child sits in a walkway at a shelter for families displaced by gang violence, in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, May 22, 2025. (Photo by Odelyn Joseph/AP Photo)

In this May 31, 2016 photo, pieces of watermelon litter the trash area of the Coche public market in Caracas, Venezuela. Staples such as corn flour and cooking oil are subsidized, costing pennies at the strongest of two official exchange rates. But fruit and vegetables have become an unaffordable luxury for many Venezuelan families. (Photo by Fernando Llano/AP Photo)

These images of young children training were taken at a gymnastics summer camp in Bozhou, Anhui province, China on July 28, 2015. Children with promise are selected to attend, and their families hope training will not only benefit their children physically but also increase ‘willpower’, according to China News Service. (Photo by ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images)

A woman walks up the steps decorated ahead of the Chinese New Year festival in Beijing, China, Thursday, January 12, 2017. The Chinese Lunar New Year is the most important holiday for Chinese and hundreds of millions are expected to return to their hometown to spend the new year with their family and relatives. (Photo by Ng Han Guan/AP Photo)

Elderly people attend an aquatic exercise at a private pool in Bangkok, Thailand, April 28, 2016. Many Thai families look after elderly relatives at a cost that countrywide adds up to just under a third of household income. The number of families facing this issue will balloon as the population ages at a rate among the fastest in Southeast Asia. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)