I was on Pinterest the other day when I came across a family featured in Life Magazine for having a lion as a pet. Right when I was about to “pin” the amazing pictures on my Animals board, my iPad shut itself off. I think I would’ve been less mad if my finger got chopped off. I cannot trust my iPad for the life of me. Today I began to research the pictures again and found out that the family pictured wasn’t just any old family with a pet lion. It was Tippi Hedren’s family! If you are unaware of who Tippi Hedren is, she starred in the movie The Birds, among others, and is the mother to actress Melanie Griffith. If you still don’t know who she is, I honestly don’t blame you.
Apparently Tippi was engaged in a film set in Africa when she fell in love with lions. She wanted to start her own pride of lions and in order to do that, she decided to learn everything she could about them by living with one. I’m giving you the condensed version of the story. If you want to learn more about it, I found all of my information on this blog.
*These are not my pictures, I do not take credit for them. Obvs.*
Lily In Canada 
Crazy! I know there are a few people out there who have had lions/tigers as pets… In a way, I think it’s cool. BUT, even if these animals grow to love you, you just never know, when they’re hungry… It’s too scary, I could never do it. Ahh!
Haha I know right? I also kind of feel slightly bad for the animals because it’s not the environment that they should be in. But yeah, you never know if you’re gonna catch them off guard or something…!
Is that Melanie Griffith in those pics sleeping with the lion? OMG! It makes me a little jealous, I’m not gonna lie. But yeah, that’s sort of dangerous. Cozy was scary enough sometimes! Haha! these are so surreal. good post.
Yes! That’s her in the bed. I know, I got kind of mad when I saw these pictures…so not fair. And yeah, super dangerous. Great parenting on Tippi Hedren’s part. Thanks!
Omg. The lion looks like “hey. I’m just gonna eat part of you. Just kidding..hahah….kind of” in some of those photos. lol
“Just kidding….hahah…kind of” I totally know what you mean! Yes, super scary, yet super cool at the same time.
lol. This is perfect.
Are these people ill keeping a lion in the house
It’s pretty weird, I’ll admit. I don’t know how you would get permission to have a lion in your house. Only in Hollywood I guess. So weird, right?
We would not be allowed to do that, the cat needs its freedom.
It does. Kind of makes me sad.
scary.. yep, downright crazy
Yeah pretty intense. I had to share!
Yeah, as cute as this is and as much fun as it is imagining, I think situations like this often end badly. These are wild animals and their behavior is very unpredictable.
BUT, the pictures are super interesting and fun to imagine. I wish I could scritch that huge furry head!
I agree. Even if no one ended up dying, I don’t think it’s fair to the lion to keep it in a human environment.
I know! I totally wish I could snuggle with the lion without being worried about it biting me…!
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat.
I know….I feel like I can trust your parenting skills enough that you wouldn’t do provide this kind of entertainment for EB and A2.
But part of me REALLY wants to be up in that lion mix!
Honestly, same.
If there was one animal I’d like to own it’d be a Lion. When they’re house trained they’re not actually violent animals; imagine going for a walk with that beast at the end of a lead. The one where it’s in bed is amazing. Buy me a Lion Lilington!
Yeah I want one too! Lions just seem so cool. I could totally see you walking down the road with your lion…you’d be so ‘ard then!
Ok, she’s just gone waaaay up in my esteem.
Same! I have so much respect for anyone who loves animals enough to keep them as pets!
The pictures really make me want to pet that lion and snuggle with it as if it was a stuffed animal. I can’t imagine keeping one in my house, however. But then, I do have a golden retriever who probably sheds more!
Me too! A lion would be so cozy! Yeah I think my apartment wouldn’t be a good habitat for a lion. Golden retrievers are a pretty good substitute though!
You should watch Project Nim.
Oooh okay I’ll look it up.
This is the coolest thing ever. I especially like the one of the lion lying in the bed or should I say the “lion lion in the bed?” lol! No, I shouldn’t. You think birds scared her so much she wanted whatever animal she could get to protect her?
Good joke! But yeah, this is one of the coolest things ever and I got really jealous when I saw it. That’s a good point about the birds scaring her so much. Weird that she wouldn’t be scared of a lion though?
Those shots are freaking me out!
I know, right? So crazy!
Wow!! One the one hand I’m like, “That’s so cool! I want that to be my house!” And on the other hand I’m rather happy that I’ve never been mauled in my life…
I know right?! It’s terrifying, yet I’m super jealous. I’m so torn.
Hi Lily, just stumbled across your blog and saw this story. You should look up ‘Christian The Lion’. True story, heartbreakingly beautiful.
Mika, yes I love Christian The Lion! It’s one of my favorite stories! So sweet. I love lions for that reason.