- [Narrator] This is Frasier the Lion.
You can tell it's him because his tongue
is hangin' out.
See (laughing).
There it is.
Also, because he's about to mate.
(upbeat instrumental music)
Have you ever wondered about the number of lions
at your zoo?
You probably don't think
about lion reproduction too much, do ya?
Well, consider this.
If one female lion in captivity has a litter of cubs,
and they all survive and breed -
for reference, zoo lions can start breeding
before their third birthday -
and then those offspring all survive and breed,
and then the next generation the same,
and so on,
it'd take about 37 years until that one family tree
of descendants, from that one lioness,
needed to eat the entire population
of Los Angeles everyday (roaring)
just to survive.
That is why zoos in the United States (elephant trumpeting)
so often administer birth control to their animals.
Chimps take the pill,
same one humans use.
Giraffes get hormones in their food
while lions, who would otherwise take over L.A. (roaring)
have slow release hormone implants.
Or, it's as simple as keeping males and females
of the species (roaring) separate.
Populations are kept in check.
Breeding, when it happens,
is controlled.
Pairs are matched based on their genetic makeup
which sometimes, means a sort of mail order mate.
There could be a rhinoceros
flying overhead right now (helicopter chuffing),
on her way to see if some male rhino measures up.
Isn't there something kind of wonderful about that?
But there was a time before all this population regulation.
Let me tell you a story about a lion
that actually did take over Los Angeles.
His name is Frasier.
Remember the lion with the hanged-dog tongue?
Frasier the Sensuous Lion.
(mysterious music)
- [Film Narrator] And now, Clyde Beatty (growling),
the most fearless man in all the world.
Alone in a cage with a herd of man-eating African lions.
- [Narrator] Frasier was a circus lion for years,
until 1970 when the Mexican circus that owned him,
went out of business.
Here was Frasier, age 19.
Old for a lion, circus, or otherwise.
By all accounts, done for.
Set to be put down.
Toothless, 100 pounds underweight,
his tongue always out because the muscles that held it
gave way.
Poor Frasier.
But, it wasn't the end for the old Panthera Leo.
Somehow, he wound up in a shipment of big cats,
bought on consignment from the cirus,
and bound for Lion Country Safari:
a drive-thru animal preserve in Laguna Hills, California,
just south of L.A (twinkling music).
The events from here on,
unfolded in a thoroughly unexpected way.
- [Pat] I was on NBC because of the old guy.
Wasn't it Frasier the Lion?
Frasier the Lion was mating a female
during that time (laughing),
as old as he was.
But anyway--
- [Narrator] That is Pat Quinn.
The former wildlife director at Lion Country.
In 1972, Pat was on T.V.
because, in less than a year and a half at the safari,
Frasier fathered 31 cubs with 6 lionesses (plopping).
One of those lionesses was named Linda.
In the wild (elephant trumpeting), a lion lives 10,
maybe 15 years.
In captivity, 30 is possible.
As for Frasier's 19 years,
picture grandpa having 30 plus toddlers.
Frasier, to say the least,
was prolific.
As the LA Times reported at the time, quote,
"It takes an ordinary male lion 18 months
to father maybe only 12 cubs.
Frasier had more than double that rate."
Pat's wife, Donna,
also remembers Frasier.
- [Donna] I just know that they made a movie
about him - it bombed (laughing).
I don't think it did well.
You know, he was famous for frequent copulation
but that's normal with lions.
No reason why a 20-year-old lion,
if it's horny, doesn't mate often (laughing).
- [Narrator] The movie, "Frasier the Sensuous Lion,"
was later renamed, "Frasier the Lovable Lion."
A talking animal movie in which Frasier
instructs a virgin scientist how to seduce women.
- Good morning, Frasier.
- Quite a female you have there, Norman.
Looks ripe.
- She works here in public relations.
- I think she really likes you.
- Oh Frasier, really.
- [Frasier] Oh no, I can tell.
Has she licked your ear yet?
- Frasier.
- Well, that's the way my females let me know
when they're ready for a jungle joy.
- [Narrator] Like Mrs. Quinn said,
"It bombed."
(splashing)
He was a lion celebrity.
A photo spread in LIFE Magazine,
a ballad by Oscar-winning songwriter, Johnny Mercer,
and a recording of that song by jazz legend,
Sarah Vaughan.
Here, I'll play it for ya.
♪ "Oh, cruel is fate ♪
♪ But it's never too late," said Frasier ♪
♪ "Announce the feast ♪
♪ I'm the King of the Beast," yawned Frasier ♪
♪ "But king or not, I am certainly hot," said Frasier ♪
♪ And when you are hot and hittin' the spot ♪
♪ The action will amaze ya ♪
- [Narrator] Also, fan mail came at a rate
of 1500 letters a month.
Many from old men inquiring
about the lion's diet.
- [Todd] If I recollect,
I know they were trying to introduce some younger males
to a group of females
but the problem with that
is they would end up fighting,
and someone's going to die.
- The Quinn's son, Todd,
also worked for Lion Country Safari.
What he said confirms a lyric in the "Frasier" song.
♪ Younger studs brought in for breeding ♪
♪ Wound up beaten, bruised, and bleeding ♪
♪ Every dawn the same thing kept occurring ♪
- [Narrator] According to LIFE Magazine,
the safari was trying to have their lionesses
start a family.
Quote, "Attempts to introduce strapping young males
to the group failed."
As a joke, someone suggested Frasier.
The next day,
Frasier was on his back, surrounded by lionesses.
The females even brought him food and stood guard.
He was pride king,
seemingly defying Darwin's theories
on survival of the fittest.
The LA Times reported, "Wife after wife,
turned up pregnant."
- [Packer] I mean, having your tongue hanging out like that
cannot be a sign of good genetic health.
- [Narrator] That's Dr. Craig Packer,
professor and head of the lion center
at the University of Minnesota.
He has a theory on Frasier's sex appeal.
- [Packer] So, lions, like a lot of other animal species,
have a sort of innate incest to boot.
If those young males (roaring)
were in anyway genetically related to the females
in that colony (roaring),
then there would've been very little sexual interest.
So, if animals grow up together,
they make the assumption that they're siblings,
and they're just not turned on.
- [Narrator] Just to interrupt,
Todd Quinn recalled how Frasier was the only newcomer,
that the rest were raised together since they were cubs.
- [Packer] In this case,
if a stranger comes to town (roaring),
that can really excite all the ladies,
that's what I guess happened
because he certainly
was no impressive (roaring) physical specimen.
Frasier who is 19-years-old,
you would think he would not present as a good bet
for surviving the next two years.
- [Narrator] He didn't.
(depressing music)
In the end, Frasier died.
On July 13th, 1972.
Two months after LIFE Magazine
published his photo spread.
An old circus lion turned sex symbol.
In under two years,
he had 35 cubs in total,
with seven lionesses.
Also, a movie and a song.
The LA Times published an account of Frasier's autopsy,
which reads like a search for the fountain of youth.
15 scientists performed the postmortem.
He had, quote, "Beautiful organs.
His prostate, kidneys, liver, heart,
and cardiovascular system
were perfectly healthy."
"Externally," they wrote,
"Frasier wasn't much to look at.
But internally, well, he was just remarkable."
(cheering in background)
The team even took tissue samples for further study.
The official cause of death was pneumonia.
Though, one doctor doctor offered another cause,
"I feel he loved himself to death."
(upbeat jazz music)
Also, subscribe to Popular Science
on YouTube for more "Wild Lives" episodes.
Next up, Alfred Hitchcock's classic,
"The Birds,"
isn't entirely fiction.