Zamba: The True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived

This is Ralph Helfer’s memoir of raising and working with the lion he rescued as a young cub, Zamba, who became possibly the most famous lion and a leading Hollywood star.

I’m not a great animal lover, but I was interested and engaged in most of this memoir. I particularly liked some of the stories Helfer told of how he trained Zamba (and other animals in his care) using affection rather than fear and physical punishment. There are scenes of humor and tenderness, and some rather frightening scenarios as well.

I did find Helfer a bit preachy at times. Still, I applaud the way that he changed the minds of many animal “trainers” about the best techniques to use; but worry that a casual reader might not recognize the extremely hard show more work this is and decide to try to “sleep with my pet tiger” as Helfer frequently slept with Zamba. show less

Ralph Helfer adopts a four-month lion cub, rescued near the Zambezi River and raises him in California using affection training, rather than punishment training. Helfer's backstory, born poor in Chicago, moving to California, growing up in an apartment building with Carol Burnett as a friend, working in pet stores, eventually building a business caring for and providing "wild" animals for TV/motion picture production. Zamba is perhaps best known as the Dreyfus Funds mascot, but starred in many movies too. A must read for lion lovers, up there with the Born Free trilogy by Joy Adamson and The Lion King. The anecdotes were emotional: Zamba meeting a blind woman, Zamba's close brush with death and blindness, surviving a freak snowstorm, show more Zamba's working vacation to Africa. Unlike other GR reviewers, I did not find the book preachy: I was too vested in Zamba's life history and co-existence with people. show less

Early in Ralph Helfer’s career, a Hollywood studio approached him to offer work as a stuntman. “Sure,” was his automatic reply before they explained the dangerous stunt, “We want you to pretend you are a lion tamer and work a male lion on a pedestal.”

Prior to this proposition, Ralph established himself as a fearless stuntman by handling rattlesnakes and scorpions in earlier productions. Well sort of, he just happens to be the only soul left standing in a room full of unpredictable creatures when a director hollers, “Action!”

The day of the shoot, Ralph meets the trainer. A rough man described as a “Bullderm” chewing, western type: completely messy, uncouth, and unethical with animals. A man preferring to use fear and show more sheer brute strength to control animals like his lion, Rex.

With a squirt of juice on the ground the trainer asks, “When do these people pay us?”

Ralph, shakes his head uncertain, and then inquires about the lion’s mood. The handler cocks back and says, “Well, okay, I guess.”

The instructions seem easy enough: get Rex to jump on a pedestal, cuff his paw, and snarl at you. (Piece of cake!) The handler then gives Ralph all the hand signals needed and lets him memorize the movements, but without Rex.

Fresh from wardrobe, Ralph ridiculously sports a blue and gold epaulet costume and long leather whip. He then takes his mark, which feels a little too close to the pedestal, and the director bellows, “Action!” With the gate open, Rex saunters into the cage, barely acknowledging Ralph and sits on his haunches.

Ralph has to snap the whip to rouse him, and then proceeds to do hand signals. Rex reluctantly “acts” the scene through and the director hollers, “Cut!”

“That was great, son. Let’s do it again.”

The next take, sends Ralph to the emergency room, unconscious and broken. From that horrible encounter, Ralph vows to learn a better way to treat animals, using respect and love. He coins his new technique “affection training” and smothers his animals with praises when they do well.

He gets another chance when Zamba, a lion cub abandoned near the Zambezi River, enters his life. You will laugh and cry reading, Zamba: the True Story of the Greatest Lion That Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer. It is full of narrow escapes and surprises, as Ralph evolves into the “Lion Whisperer.” show less

Ralph Helfer always dreamed of working with animals. From his beginnings as an assistant in a small pet store, he worked his way up to owning his own establishment, a ranch full of exotic animals which he trained and performed with in movies, commercials and other productions. Helfer believed that it was safer and more humane to train animals with affection, communication and trust rather than the fear, domination and force commonly used on large exotic beasts (like lions and tigers in circuses) at the time. He got his chance to prove his methods when a friend brought home a four-month old lion cub from Africa. Named Zamba, the lion was raised in Helfer's home (he even shared his bed!) and their bond of love and trust was complete. show more Zamba was the only lion trustworthy enough to perform in films with child actors. His remarkable story unfolds smoothly in these pages, full of laughs as well as sad moments. Zamba was a really easy read. I finished it in a few days. I only wish I could have read more about training methods used to teach Zamba his special commands, rather than all the gushing about how much the guy loved his lion.

from the Dogear Diary show less

A touching story about a rescued lion cub, although he lived his life in peace and was safe from harm, I don't feel that being a 'movie' star is what a lion should be made to do.

This is such a nice story!!! I loved it. I am always a sucker for true stories about animals and this one is one of the better.

The true story of Ralph Helfer who worked as a stuntman for a Hollywood studio and quickly learned the importance of positive reinforcement in animal training after almost losing his life.

When Ralph invited a young lion cub into his house and his life, he was determined to use training based on love, trust and respect and not fear.

This is the story of his special bond and connection with Zamba, a lion who was used in several TV commercials.

Zamba loved going to the drive-in to watch a Western in Ralph's station wagon. Zamba would also wait quietly at the dinner table although a towel was needed to catch the drool!

An interesting, humourous and quite touching story exploring amazing bond between animals and humans.