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.

Afghan protesters beat a policeman after a suicide attack that targeted crowds of minority Shiite Hazaras during a demonstration at the Deh Mazang Circle of Kabul on July 23, 2016. Islamic State jihadists claimed responsibility for twin explosions July 23 that ripped through crowds of Shiite Hazaras in Kabul, killing at least 61 people and wounding 207 others in apparently their deadliest attack in the Afghan capital. The bombings during a huge protest over a power transmission line could deepen sectarian divisions in a country well known for communal harmony despite decades of war. (Photo by Wakil Kohsar/AFP Photo)

A Brazilian Navy member ejects spent cartridges while shooting rubber bullets during an exhibition of their operational capacity to combat terrorist attacks and riots ahead of the FIFA Confederations Cup and World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro on May 27, 2013. (Photo by Ricardo Moraes/Reuters)

Pfc. Sebastian Rodriguez, machine gunner, Weapons Platoon, Lima Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, fires an M240 machine gun during a night squad-attack exercise, here, May 22, 2013. (Photo by Sgt. Sarah Fiocco/U.S. Marines)

This Wednesday, August 31, 2016 photo, provided by the Syrian anti-government activist group Aleppo Media Center (AMC), shows Syrian boys dive into a hole filled with water that was caused by a missile attack in the rebel-held neighborhood of Sheikh Saeed in Aleppo province, Syria. (Photo by Aleppo Media Center via AP Photo)

Police react to a suspicious vehicle near La Carillon restaurant following a series of deadly attacks in Paris, November 15, 2015. Thousands of French troops deployed around Paris on Sunday and tourist sites stood shuttered in one of the most visited cities on Earth while investigators questioned the relatives of a suspected suicide bomber involved in the country's deadliest violence since World War II. (Photo by Pascal Rossignol/Reuters)

A B-52 bomber is watched by a group of curious onlookers as it lands at RAF Fairford, February 21, 1999. The B52s arrived from the U.S.A. as part of NATO's preparations for air attacks on Yugoslavia as tensions in the Kosovo crisis increased. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

A WZ-10 attack helicopter performs during Airshow China 2022 at Zhuhai Air Show Center on November 9, 2022 in Zhuhai, Guangdong Province of China. The 14th Airshow China will be held from Nov. 8 to 13. (Photo by Qian Baihua/VCG via Getty Images)