Parque Nacional da Gorongosa Moçambique

On the edge of the Mojave Desert forty miles northeast of Los Angeles is SHAMBALA, a "Shangri-La" for unwanted and abandoned exotic animals. The only game preserve of its kind in the United States, Shambala is a unique haven for more than 50 large animals that live together on 60-acres of a recreated African wildlife habitat. Residing in this secluded riverine are African Lions, Royal Bengal Tigers, African and Asian Leopards, American Cougars, African Servals and African Elephants, most of them orphans or cast-offs from circuses, private owners and zoos. And overseeing them all from a modest 2-bedroom cottage surrounded by the animal compounds is Tippi Hedren, star of Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds, whose life has evolved from actress to animal protector, conservationist and "den mother" to a unique brood of felines. It’s a life that is a far cry from the typical Hollywood trappings, yet one that oddly enough began with the old idea, "let’s make a movie about this."

To understand how Shambala came to be, we must go back to 1969 when Tippi was filming Satan’s Harvest in Africa. There she met a mellow lion named Dandylion and suddenly had the feeling "there was much to discover about the big cats." A trip to Gorongosa, Mozambique’s largest game preserve, brought Tippi and her husband Noel Marshall to an abandoned house inhabited by 30 lions and their cubs, some asleep in window frames, others gazing down from the roof, a couple sitting on a dilapidated porch swing, and one resting in a broken rocking chair. It was this bizarre scene that prompted Noel to say, "Uyou know, we ought to make a picture about this." And it was those words which changed Tippi Hedren’s life forever.

Tippi’s book, The Cats of Shambala, tells the remarkable story of Noel and Tippi’s dream to make that film about the African lions called Roar, and all that they endured in the six years prior to commencing filming. In their first dose of reality, while discussing their need for a cast of 50 lions with a veteran animal trainer, they were told that "you can’t simply force a bunch of adult lions, strangers to each other, to live together. They’re individuals that have to be introduced gradually or they may kill each other. Or you." This wake-up call made them realize they would have to create their own pride of 50 homegrown lions, acquiring them one by one.

Their lion search next brought them to Ron Oxley, a man with an animal-rental business in Soledad Canyon, an area Tippi never knew existed. Oxley introduced them to Neil, a lion they could safely hug and get to know, and suggested he bring Neil to their place for a visit. "To get to know anything about lions," he said, "you’ve just got to live with them for a while." Unaware what this would eventually lead to, Neil became their first live-in lion 4 or 5 days a week. From that point on their lives and their home in the suburban community of Sherman Oaks would never be the same.

It’s one thing to have a few dogs or small cats as house pets. It's quite another to raise lions. But that's what Tippi and her family (including her daughter, actress Melanie Griffith) did for months before acquiring the Soledad Canyon property that would become Shambala. The whole family was involved in the feeding and care of lion cubs, who that could be both loving and destructive at the same time. But Tippi writes that "the months we spent raising the cubs were marvelous, unique learning experiences for us all. The time between 6 weeks and 6 months, when the lion is becoming quite large and strong, is a time of wonder." The Sherman Oaks house became a way station for the lion cubs who would eventually live in Soledad Canyon, with the cubs spending a period of time associating with humans first. Believing that nothing was more important than day-and-night communication with the cubs, Tippi shocked friends when she admitted that she absolutely made sure the cubs even slept with her or her children.

As plans for the film progressed, Tippi moved to the animal compound, surrounded by the lions, tigers, a couple of African elephants and other exotic felines acquired for the film. Her book details the years of off-and-on filming of "Roar" and the myriad of problems they encountered, including the threat of fire; lions occasionally escaping from the compound; and a devastating flood. But she also writes about the lions and tigers who became part of their homegrown cast and the relationships that she and others working with her had with the animals. What began as a vast and authentic African-type set for a motion picture became a private preserve for the four-footed feline "actors" who starred in that film. Today Shambala is maintained by the Roar Foundation, a non-profit organization Tippi established to "assist in the care of the animals and continue further in-depth study of the great cat in captivity." Taken from ancient Sanskrit, Shambala means "a meeting place of peace and harmony for all beings, animal and human." Tippi writes that here is a place "where lions and tigers are allowed to live together or alone if they choose. They're not asked to do ridiculous things like tricks, and can do what they want to do, with little interference from humans. They are a source of beauty, to be observed like a fine painting. I'm now convinced that, raised in captivity, they are capable of much deeper human relationships than previously thought possible."
Tippi says that the animals are "always showing us something new and different. I am always amazed at the intelligence level they have, and how they can be so very, very affectionate. And they're so honest. It's so refreshing. The honesty is just unbelievable. Whatever they feel, that's what you see.

Source: www.thepetpress-la.com