Lion Heart is the bold and uplifting memoir of Cam Whitnall, a man whose life has been defined by extraordinary bonds with wildlife and a dramatic warzone rescue that brought five lions to safety in the UK.
'If you know what to look for, a lion’s face tells you everything. The eyes, the scars, the shape.
Their faces tell the truth about survival, control and what it costs to exist in a world shaped by humans.
Everything I’ve chosen to do with my life comes back to that.
Because once you’ve really learned how to look at a lion, and understood the story written across its face, walking away stops being an option.'
When Cam’s grandparents bought a dilapidated zoo, once known as the worst in the UK, and brought it back to life, they also created a home for their family.
Cam grew up on the grounds, now known as Hertfordshire Zoo, in a bedroom overlooking the tiger enclosure. His childhood playground, where he and his brothers would play hide-and-seek after hours, was filled with endangered species from around the world. He built deep connections with the animals in their care, even hand-rearing a lion cub called Zara, an experience which inspired a lifelong fascination with big cats.
Over the years, the family business expanded as they also took on The Big Cat Sanctuary with Cam taking the helm as director. He and the sanctuary made global headlines for leading a high-risk rescue mission of five abandoned lions from war-torn Ukraine. The lions were found in states of shellshock and malnourishment and had likely been used for illegal breeding. After ten months of dedicated effort, Cam united Rori, Yuna, Vanda, Amani and Lira in their forever home at the sanctuary and gave them the freedom to walk on grass for the very first time. A momentous milestone in a lifetime dedicated to animal welfare, conservation and rescue.
