The Lion's Share?

Another rather odd old item on BBC's 'The One Show' about 'Christian' the  lion cub purchased from Harrods in the 1960's who was released into 'the wild' but continued to recognise (heart-warming reunion?) its former 'owners' (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wA-VDw_BQY) one year later. There was a lot of talk about the powers of 'imprinting' and its potential role in 'conservation'. I may be a party pooper but 'imprinting' is generally a negative thing for conservation as the beast in question appears to think it is human. I suspect that 'Christian' had no chance of breeding (the real indication of whether he actually played a role in conservation terms- he would certainly have no brothers to combine forces with).