ALDERSON W.Va. (WVDN) – On Thursday, Nov. 13, at the Alderson Town Council meeting, author and history professor Richard Hartman will present a framed plaque featuring an actual photo of French, the Alderson lion, and a quote that was published in the Washington Post on April 3, 1893.

The quote is from William Blackburn, who was the Head Zoo Keeper at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., when French was there. He described French as “a magnificent specimen in fine coat and splendidly muscled. One particularity of his marking is a spot like a three-leaf clover in the hair on his forehead.”

In the photo, French, who was known for being kind and gentle, was three years old and did not yet have a full mane. It isn’t until a lion is five or six years old that their mane is fully developed.

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