In the Timbavati region of South Africa, a Lion pride faces a challenging situation when they have not had a successful hunt for numerous days altogether and are forced to target a party of English hunters. Motivated by a powerful Lioness who leads them, the pride learns tactics to avoid the hunters’ weapons. Despite losing some Lionesses to gunfire, they manage to kill several men and their pack animals such as their horses ; they have a more difficult time with their dogs since the dogs work together in a pack although the Lionesses have an advantage as a large pride, killing each dog. In the end, only two men remain, and they make a final stand against them which they nearly lose until before help arrives for the men which scatters the pride.
The pride, robbed of their last meal, encounters a large bull giraffe. Initially struggling to bring him down, a handsome male Lion arrives and aids the females in tiring the giraffe. With a swift move, he seizes the giraffe’s neck, saving the pride from hunger. In gratitude and love, the leading Lioness pledges herself as his mate, and he becomes the pride’s leader alongside her. After a few days, the two mate and soon, the Lioness leaves the pride to give birth near the Timbavati River. One of her cubs is pure white. The Lioness is cautious of her mate at first, but he proves to be gentle and caring. Tragically, the male Lion is killed by a leopard who despite her smaller size is able to afford a chokehold on the male which kills him. Then having knowledge of his family, she begins to pick off the Lionesses’ cubs one by one until only the white cub survives, leading to a fierce confrontation where over the following days the Lioness avenges her mate and cubs by killing the leopard’s own cubs which cause a fierce fight between the two cats that the Lioness triumphs over the leopard against and survives with her white cub as they eat the leopard. As the cub grows, he faces various threats from other animals such as mongooses, warthogs, baboons, caracals, buffalo or giraffe, and his mother defends him. One day, she kills an eland fawn and the fawn’s mother having witnessed this, challenges the Lioness to a battle. Both females engage in a vicious battle while the cub escapes, unaware that both his mother and the eland have died from their wounds during the fight.
After running for miles, the cub happens upon a Shangaan village and one of the elders who see him with the others is ecstatic as a White Lion is a symbol of God. The man’s son Gisani attempts to be friendly with the cub and knowing the cub may react strongly, starts to gain his trust by offering him food. The cub slowly starts to open up to him and soon allows physical contact coming from the young Shangaan who goes on to name him ‘Kimba’. Gisani visits Kimba each day thanks to the cub choosing to make a home not too far from the village and the two go on to become best friends. By now, Kimba has grown into a handsome male Lion. However while the White Lion is allowed to come into the village given that his docility is trusted by many of the people in the village, they will not allow any Lion to live there and the village dogs who are known to protect their masters from animal attacks such as those of Lions, make it evident to Kimba that they do not want him coming anywhere near them. At the advice of his father who knows how much he loves Kimba Gisani protects the White Lion from afar, while watching over him and ensuring his safety. They still meet, share meals, and take walks together. One day, Gisani goes to town for supplies, and Kimba joins him, causing dismay among the townsfolk. Despite Gisani’s teachings, Kimba resists aggression and anger when provoked. A gambler named Thomas Peters and his wife Katherine want to buy Kimba, but Gisani refuses, leading to the couple threatening him of involving the police to have him arrested for bringing a dangerous uncaged animal into town. As days pass, Kimba’s gentle nature fades, fulfilling Thomas and Katherine’s desires.
Kimba defeats other Lions and leopards pitted against him, earning money for his owners. Even when facing hyenas, wild dogs, and baboons, he remains victorious, gaining the title ‘The Fighting White Lion.’ Desperate for money, when fights against predatory animals began to falter his owners pit him against herbivorous animals such as buffalo, giraffe and oryx although Kimba continues to defeat his opponents which frustrates James and Katherine who are desperate for more money. A few days later, an Indian trader named Dev Chopra brings with him, a powerful Tiger, Raj who is the first Tiger to ever enter Southern Africa. Raj is as powerful a fighter as Kimba, having defeated numerous opponents back in India and now his owner seeks new opponents for him. James and Katherine propose to Dev that he pit his Tiger against their Lion which he agrees. Kimba and Raj are initially hesitant to fight since not only has Kimba never seen a Tiger before, but even though Raj has defeated many Lions, he has never see let alone fight one that is white. However, Kimba’s aggression leads him to battle Raj, who gains the upper hand and almost defeats Kimba. The White Lion is overwhelmed further during his death struggle when James and Katherine taunt him by laughing at him hoping to provoke him back into fighting. Thankfully, Gareth Smith a local South African intervenes, saving Kimba by killing Raj before waring James, Katherine and the deceased Tiger’s owner against calling the police (since he will reach the police before they do). Dev returns to India, heartbroken, while Gareth takes Kimba into his care.
Gareth is a former gold miner who gave up his career so he could take to helping his favourite animals, who happen to be Lionsif a Lion could not take care of her/himself. He does this by taking Lions on walks into the wild and once they get used to the wild, leaving them in their new home once they have interactions with wild Lions and have gotten used to living on their own in the wild as long as they do not return to him, many of whom were once under the care of Gareth. He also trains Lions to hunt by shooting animals in front of them or teaching them to chase goats (that he owns) as a source of food for the Lions. He is paid very little for this but is grateful to have the experience of being an advocate for the king of animals. Having learnt about Kimba’s aggression and believing that his former owners brought that upon him, he places the White Lion separately from other Lions while Kimba regains his strength and health, recovering from his wounds thanks to the food and drink that Gareth brings him. After a long patient effort, Gareth succeeds in winning over Kimba’s trust the same way that Gisani did for him. It is around this time that Thomas and his wife attempt to steal Kimba back although thanks to the overwhelming acts of not just Kimba but the other Lions as well, Gareth is furious that Thomas and Katherine defied him and immediately hands them over to the police However when it comes to attempting to reintroduce Kimba into the wild, the White Lion keeps returning to Gareth who not knowing what to do, turns to one of his Shangaan friends for help. That Shangaan happens to be Gisani who is very happy to be united with his old Lion friend after so long and the feeling is mutual with Kimba. Both Gisani and Gareth slowly start spending more time in the wild with Kimba and make him observe other Lions in the wild as well as getting him to hunt by first killing animals in front of him then encouraging him to bring down animals. Gisani’s father gives permission to use some of their goats as practice for Kimba. Eventually, Kimba, realizing that his home is in the wild is able to run back into the welcome of the Timbavati region.
Gareth, a former gold miner, now dedicates his life to helping his favourite animal, Lions if a Lion could not take care of her/himself. He helps Lions find their home in the wild again by taking them on walks into the wild, guiding them until they adapt to their new home and live independently through interactions with wild Lions or teaching them to chase goats (that he owns) as a source of food for the Lions before they get used to chasing wild prey. He is paid very little for this but is grateful for the experience of advocating for the king of animals. Learning about Kimba’s aggression and believing his former owners caused it, Gareth keeps the White Lion separate from other Lions until he recovers physically and psychologically with food and drink that Gareth provides. After much patience, Gareth earns Kimba’s trust, just as Gisani did for him and he is allowed to interact with other Lions. James and his wife attempt to steal Kimba back, but due to the overwhelming actions of Kimba and the other Lions, they are stopped. Gareth is furious that James and Katherine defied him and immediately hands them over to the police. However, Gareth is unsure how to reintroduce Kimba into the wild, so he seeks help from one of his Shangaan friends. That Shangaan happens to be Gisani who is delighted to reunite with his old Lion friend, and together with Gareth, they spend more time in the wild with Kimba, teaching him to observe and hunt other animals. Eventually, Kimba realizes his true home is in the wild and returns to the welcome of the Timbavati region.
One day, Gareth is visiting his wife and children who despite not living with him due to a divorce that stemmed from Gareth’s preference to work with Lions, allow him to visit. He takes them to see Gisani and the Shangaan’s family one day and they go on a trek of the region hoping to see Kimba but the White Lion is nowhere in sight. Crossing the border into the Kruger district hoping to see him, they are ecstatic to find him with a family of his own; a beautiful Lioness and her two cubs, the male being the colour of his mother and the female being the colour of her father.
Despite being divorced and not living together, Gareth visits his wife and children quite often. One day, they all go to visit Gisani and the Shangaan’s family and go on a trek of the region, hoping to spot Kimba, but the White Lion is nowhere in sight. Crossing into the Kruger district, they are thrilled to find Kimba with a Lioness and their two cubs – a male resembling his mother and a female resembling her father through her own white colour.
The End