Animal Lover Kevin Richardson Serenades 350-Pound Lionesses With Love

Aug. 10, 2009— -- In the scorching South African heat, Kevin Richardson knows it's best to let sleeping lions, lie. And sometimes he joins them.

As the sun rises to its full ascent, a pride can be seen resting in the shade of a tree. And nestled against the stomachs of lions drifting in and out of consciousness, is 34-year-old Richardson -- fast asleep.

"That for me is true acceptance. I can lie down with them. I can sleep with them. I can interact with them as if I were a lion," says Richardson. "It's something I'd like the world to see."

At his 1,800-acre wildlife refuge outside Johannesburg, Richardson has raised an entire pride of lions to accept him as one of their own.

"Lions can be extremely affectionate. They can show you affection that I've never had from a human," he says.

Watch Richardson and his lions on "Primetime Outsiders" TUESDAY at 10 p.m. ET

The trust, remarkably, can be mutual. One lioness braves her fear of water and swims out to Richardson simply to be near him when he calls. And then drapes her 350 pound body around his body, using him as a life raft.

"Words can't describe it. It's something that you cannot tell people how you feel because you got to experience it to feel it and it's a privilege, privilege, privilege," Richardson said. "You run out of superlatives."

Such interactions are wondrous, even terrifying -- and very real. Richardson is the first to recognize the dangers of living in one of the wildest feline families nature never intended.

"I've been mauled by lions that are my friends. If you don't react instantaneously, you're dead," says Richardson.

Kevin also acknowledges that in the wild, even what he describes as his honed sixth sense would not protect him from a lion attack.

"The big headline newspaper article was 'Lion Whisperer'. And everyone's been e-mailing me saying you're the Lion Whisperer. Well, not really because I can't go up into a wild pride of lions and start talking to them and saying 'hey, listen I'm not a threat. I'm going to come up now and tickle you on the throat'. I'm going to get eaten just like anyone else would get eaten," cautions Richardson.

Those relationships were crucial four years ago when Richardson began shooting his first feature film "White Lion: Home is a Journey" starring lions he'd trained since cubs.

Unwilling to part with his cast after the filming ended, Richardson's gift to the now-retired actors was a permanent home. More than 40 lions live in a habitat near the Magaliesberg Mountains. And it is here where Richardson began testing some of the limits of inter-species relations with his boundless affection.

"I've always had a nurturing philosophy. Shower them with love and it'll all come back if it's meant to be," says Richardson.

A provocative theory put to the test with every lion hug. Richardson's notoriety has also given him a platform to publicize the grave extinction threat now facing all of Africa's wild lions.

"Numbers have dropped by, in the past decade, up to 75 percent. That's a staggering amount considering that we're sitting on a figure of about 23,000 lions," he said. "I think the greater world does think of Africa as this big, open landscape. And it's not. Humans are encroaching and animal territories are getting smaller and more defined."

Richardson believes documenting his extraordinary encounters with captive lions can inspire public empathy for the big cats. Certainly the intimacy he's achieved can be startling, even to veteran lion experts.

"People always love to hear about the defining moment, you know? I walked out into the back garden and this frog spoke to me. It didn't happen like that. I was one of those kids who used to play a lot outside in the dirt. And animals fascinated me. I'm like in my own little world with them."

Richardson's early introduction to a pair of boisterous young male lions changed the world as he knew it.

"It was more like an opportunity that presented itself and I grabbed it with both hands without realizing it. For me it was just meeting those two lions," says Richardson.

Their names are Tau and Napoleon. Tau was born with clear eyes and a shy personality. Richardson describes Napoleon as having a steadfast loyalty. Remarkably, he says these lions have since become his soul mates.

"Something just triggered in my innermost self, which was like, wow! This is the most amazing experience I've ever had. And I didn't want it to end. I was pretty, probably pretty selfish in the beginning. It was all about me. What can I gain from it? But I soon realized that they were gaining from it too," remembers Richardson.