The Lion Whisperer

Kevin Richardson (born: ) is a South African wildlife conservationist known by the nickname, The Lion Whisperer. Richardson owns a wildlife sanctuary which is home to lions, hyenas and black leopards located near Pretoria in South Africa.
==Content==
Most of Richardson's videos are of him getting up close and personal with the lions under his care in a way which humans are rarely seen. It is common to see him rubbing, petting and cuddling with the apex predators. He uses GoPro cameras which are either handheld or strapped to his body to record the up close interactions of him with the animals of his sanctuary. 
He regularly films his "enrichment walks" when he takes the animals out of their enclosures to let them freely wander within the game reserve under his supervision while explaining animal behavior. Although the lions at the sanctuary appear tame and playful, Richardson is usually the only person allowed to make contact with the lions due their unpredictably dangerous nature. In fact, a person was killed by a lioness under his care in 2018 when it ran out of his sight and fatally attacked a woman who was visiting the Dinokeng Game Reserve.
A recurring video series, known as "Ask Meg" feature Richardson answering various viewer questions about the lions in his sanctuary and lions in general while in the presence of Meg, a lioness which he has a particularly close bond with.
Although Richardson is known for being a handler of lions, another favorite animal of his is the spotted hyena. According to him, part of his mission is to improve public perception of hyenas and is quoted as saying "they're not these dirty rotten smelly scavenging scoundrels, but actually highly intelligent social animals that have an equally important function to play in the ecosystem as lions."https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IChRNbuHHWE An Unbreakable Bond
==History==
Originally from Orange Grove, Johannesburg, Richardson grew a fondness for animals from an early age. As a child, he raised a baby bird with his father. He then started rehabilitating sick or injured birds in his parents' home and he earned the nickname in his neighborhood as "The birdman of Orange Grove" (in reference to the Birdman of Alcatraz). Richardson studied to become a vet, but ultimately did not make it into veterinary science. He instead completed a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Anatomy and Physiology to pursue a career in exercise physiology. When Richardson was working in the exercise field, he became friendly with a client who just so happened to be the owner of a local tourist attraction called Lion Park. 
In 1998, Richardson visited the Lion Park after being invited by the owner to have a look. There, he was introduced to two lion cubs named Tau and Napoleon. Richardson says he went back to visit the cubs every day for eight months straight until he was offered a job at the park, which he took. From there, Richardson developed a reputation for his ability to interact with the captive bred lions at the park. A television documentary titled Dangerous Companions came out in 2005 chronicling his daily life at the Lion Park and in 2007, a British newspaper first referred to him as the "Lion Whisperer". 
A pivotal moment in his career was when he turned up for work to find lioness sisters Meg and Amy were gone. He was told the pair had been sold to a breeding farm. Richardson put up a fuss to have them returned and when he went to the breeding farm to retrieve the pair, he witnessed the poor conditions the animals at that farm were left to live in. From there, Richardson wanted to take control over the destinies of the lions under his care and with the help of the Lion Park owner, had the animals moved to a nearby farm. Richardson's relationship with the Lion Park owner came to an end and ended his employment at the facility.
Richardson met the owner of a farm bordering the Dinokeng Game Reserve, a large nature preserve near Pretoria, who offered him part of the property for his animals. This would become the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary and all his lions, hyenas and black leopards now reside at this location.http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-makes-the-lion-whisperer-roar-180955290 What Makes the "Lion Whisperer" Roar?
In 2021, the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Sanctuary adopted eight cheetah cubs, five had their mother killed by a poacher, while the additional three added later had their mother killed by a wild lion. The sanctuary raised the cubs in captivity with the intention of releasing them back into the wild when they would be old enough. In 2022, they were released with tracking collars into the Dinokeng Game Reserve. After all eight cheetahs had survived three weeks in the wild, they were anaesthetised and moved around to different parts of South Africa.https://www.instagram.com/p/Cl3oRCGsLKH
==References==
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