''The Lion Man'' is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

television documentary series about a New Zealand big cat park called

Zion Wildlife Gardens Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary is a privately owned zoo located near Kamo, Whangarei, New Zealand. The facility houses a collection of three species of large cats and was formerly used as a location for the filming of the television series ''The Lion M ...

. The series was named after

Craig Busch Craig Kevin Busch (born 18 December 1964), nicknamed The Lion Man, is a former New Zealand television personality. He was the founder and majority shareholder of Zion Wildlife Gardens Ltd, which featured on television programme ''The Lion Man''. ...

, the park's founder,NZ Companies Office
/ref> who had styled himself as "the Lion Man". The series followed Busch and the park's employees as they managed the park and its collection of approximately 30 lions and tigers of various species, and other animals. As well as first-hand comment from Busch and his staff, the series was narrated throughout by Paul Casserley in New Zealand and actor

Miles Anderson Miles Anderson (born 23 October 1947) is a British stage and screen actor, born in the colony of Southern Rhodesia, who has appeared in television serials both in the United Kingdom, and North America. He recently appeared as Alistair the phot ...

in the United Kingdom. The series also showed Busch during related promotional activities as well as his various wildlife missions abroad,The Lion Man IMDB page
/ref> including trips to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. ''The Lion Man'' was one of New Zealand's most successful television series, showing in 93 countries worldwide, including Sky1 in the United Kingdom. Three series were produced, the first of which began screening in New Zealand on 17 June 2004. The first two series were commissioned by state broadcaster

TVNZ , type = Crown entity , industry = Broadcast television , num_locations = New Zealand , location = Auckland, New Zealand , area_served = Nationally (New Zealand) and some Pacific Island nations such as the Cook Islands, Fiji, and the So ...

, but a third series looked in doubt following Busch's conviction in 2007 for assaulting his ex-wife at the park in 2005. Independent funding was found to produce the third series and TVNZ decided to broadcast it after determining that there was still popular demand for the show. The show was produced by

Great Southern Television Great Southern Television (GSTV) is a television production company primarily based in Auckland, New Zealand. The company produces television for the domestic and international markets - including factual, light entertainment, drama and document ...

. All three series' music was composed by Peter Blake and the theme tune lyrics written by Bob Smith. The show highlighted the activities of the park, including the birth of cubs from different species, and the filming of lions for television adverts and other promotions. As well as its visitor income and these promotions, the series itself became a source of vital funding for the park. The Lion Man did broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky3 (now Pick) but no longer does.

Episodes

Series One

Series One aired in 2004.

Series Two

Series Two aired in 2005.

Series Three

Series Three aired in 2007.

Animals

These are the animals that were at the park at some point while filming was taking place. Most appeared in the series.

Lions

*Zion *Shia *Shikira *Sampson *Shania *Abdullah *Cleo *Tshaka *Aslan *Cora *Jabu *Narnia *Tanza *Savannah *Shumba *Zamba

=White Lions

= *Gandor *Laduma *Amafu *Imvula *Marah *Moya *Sabie *Sibili *Timba *Themba

Tigers

*Shikana *Sita *Indira *Kahli

=White Tigers

= *Abu *Jahdu *Rewa *Tygo *Azra *Anila *Kala *Shanti *Rongo *Kiwi *Khan *Aotea *Tane

Other

*Foxy - Baboon *Mandla - Black Leopard *Zoe - Serval *Silas - Serval *Kenya - Cheetah *Thabo - Cheetah

References

External links

''The Lion Man'' page at the Great Southern Television website

Official Lionman website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lion Man, The Television series about lions New Zealand documentary television series 2004 New Zealand television series debuts TVNZ original programming