One day, Ralph Helfer, a celebrated animal behaviorist, received a suprising phone call. His close friend had found a young lion, near death by the Zambezi river in Zambia and had rescued him and brought him back to the States. Ralph had often spoken of wanting to raise a lion from a young age-he had been developing a philosophy of training animals based on love instead of fear, which he termed "affection training." Weeks later, Zamba, then a two-month old cub, arrived. As Helfer peeked into Zamba's box, he saw a small lion cub tilt his head, wait a single beat, then amble right into his arms. Hugging Helfer's neck with his soft paws, Zamba collapsed on his chest, got comfortable, and fell asleep, their faces touching. They didn't move for the next two hours. Zamba was home For the next eighteen years, Zamba would appear in many motion pictures, on television, andin the pages of magazines, but more important, a bond developed between Helfer and Zamba that became the most significant of their lives, as they experienced both happy and tough times side by side. Zamba is now enshrined in Hilfer's heart and the memories of moviegoers everywhere as the greatest lion that ever lived. With stories that range from the hilarious to the incredibly sad and poignat, Zamba will give any Lion King fan a new hero and touch every animal lover's heart.
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