Frasier (lion)

Frasier (1952?-1972), also known as Frasier the Sensuous Lion, was a captive male lion who became famous during his brief time at the Lion Country Safari franchise in Laguna Hills, California, a drive-through safari park, for his prodigious feats of siring lion cubs.^[1] After his death, a motion picture was made about him.

From circus to safari park

The lion was 18 or 19 years old, analogous to a human aged 80+, toothless and ill when he was bought by the safari park from a bankrupt Mexican circus in 1970.^[2][3]

Named "Frasier" by park employees, he “hobbled about on weakened legs, his once-lustrous coat was scruffy and his tongue sagged from a toothless mouth,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

LIFE Magazine said of Frasier, “He is underweight and splay-footed....His fur resembles an old moth-balled coat, and he sleeps 19 hours a day. The muscles in his tongue are so shot that it unreels from his mouth like a slobbery red carpet.”^[4]

The scrawny lion was put on a special diet and gained 100 pounds.^[2] He was expected to live out his days in retirement at Lion Country Safari, not become a world-renowned champion stud.^[4]

Fatherhood

Frasier was introduced to the pride of six lionesses—Lefty, Linda, Nadula, Sally, Stompy,and Zona—with no expectations that he would be accepted by them, as they had rejected relations with other five younger males, often violently.^[5] Overnight, the lionesses began mating with Frasier, and took to nurturing him too. The lionesses would chew their toothless mate's food for him.^[2]

LIFE Magazine reported that the lionesses “were sprawled protectively around Frasier,” and would offer him choice meats and would not begin to eat until he had finished his meal. Within seven weeks, all six lionesses were pregnant and he sired the first 33 of his 35 cubs within 16 months.^[4]

Because of his reputation as a lover, the old lion soon became a major attraction at the park, despite his advanced age, torpor and unsightly appearance (characterized by a scruffy coat and his tongue perpetually sticking out of his mouth). Los Angeles Times columnist John Hall reported that viewing Frasier in his haunts was not exciting, writing:

“[Frasier was] asleep on his back, his paws dangling in the sky....

A ranger in a Jeep tossed meat hunks. Frasier’s eyes popped open. He yawned and struggled to his feet.... His favorite wives of the moment, walked on each side, holding him up....

He leaned over for the meat and missed, his tongue lolling in the dirt six inches off target. He didn’t care. He went back to sleep.”^[2]

Frasier typically slept 19 hours a day, huddled side-by-side with lionesses and their cubs.^[4]

Father of the Year

Nonetheless, park attendance climbed 20% due to the fame that accrued to Frasier for the feat of fathering multiple lion cubs. Eventually, he sired litters totaling 35 lion cubs with the lionesses. The secret to his success apparently was a strong libido, as his life in a circus apparently hadn't caused him the stress of competing with other males, and by allowing the females to initiate mating.^[2]

As a result of his new-found celebrity, T-shirts, watches, and other souvenirs were made featuring a photo of Frasier. The California State Assembly declared Frasier “Father of the Year.”^[2]

Death and legacy

Frasier died of pneumonia on July 13, 1972 and was buried at Lion Country Safari, his grave marked by a six-foot-tall wooden cross. Adopted as a mascot by the Scottish Clan Fraser, he received the clan's funeral rites at his internment, which was attended by clan members dressed in kilts, who mourned his passing with bagpipe music.^[2] A tree also was planted at Frasier's grave site.^[6]

In 1973, Lion Country Safari tried to capitalize on their deceased star with a feature film called Frasier the Sensuous Lion.^[7] The film featured a song, by the same title, performed by Sarah Vaughan.^[8] However, the film was a major flop, financially and critically, being roundly panned for using a different lion in Frasier′s place and for employing a voice actor for Frasier to fictionalize the story.

Attendance at the Laguna Hills park declined sharply after Frasier's death, eventually closing in 1984. The property was then subleased to the operators of the Wild Rivers water park, the Camp Frasier (later Camp James) summer camp (which was named for Frasier) and the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre.^[9] According to local lore, when the property was eventually turned into residential buildings as Los Olivos Apartment Village, Frasier's burial spot was spared and not paved over.^[6]

References