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Disgusted by thewav the Lion lvlanand his followers are

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treating her mum,Craig Busch's sisterbreaks her silenceon the 'violent' manshe used to idolise

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t was one of themost successfulhomegrown TV showsof recent time -catapulting its sunny-

faced star, ('Lion Man" GraigBusch, to fame in millions ofhouseholds around the world.

But behind the scenesit was a different story forthose closest to him.

"The fame got to Craig -he changed," says Craig's littlesister Megan Busch, speakingpublicly for the first time."His ego became huge andhe became increasingly outof control.

"I was my brother's biggestfan, but he has destroyedour family. The public will beshocked when they hear theway he's behaved behindclosed doors, and the wayhe's treated our mum."

The three-part Lion Manseries showcased Craig's workat Whangarei's Zion WildlifeGardens - the park he openedin 2003 - which put NewZealand on the map for theconservation of endangeredtigers and lions in more than100 countries, and made Craigan international celebrity.

Then his world camecrashing down when wordgot out that, in 2005, he'dattacked his former partner offive years, Karen Greybrook,also a popular fixture on theTV series.

The show was shelved,but more trouble followed. Apark volunteer was reportedlybitten by a lion. Anotherworker was bitten by a tiger.Finally,last May, Zion's belovedSouth African senior cat

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handler Dalu Mncube wasfatally mauled to death bywhite tiger Abu - one of hismost trusted charges.

There was a MAFinvestigation into the runningof the park and the welfare ofthe big cats. Eighteen monthsago MAF removed Craig'soperator iicence.

Craig's elderly motherPatricia Busch had alreadytaken over the helm of Zionas the managing director.And so began the rapid declineof the man who was oncepromoted as New Zealand'sanswer to wildlife warriorCrocodile Hunter Steve lrwin.

A disillusioned Craig, 45,left Zion for good last October.The last his family heard,Craig - with one failed marriageand four faiied engagementsbehind him - had proposed,yet again, to another woman,and flown to the UK, thenon to South Africa.

Mum Pa'tricia is heartbroken- battling failing health, as wellas death threats from Craig'ssupporters, she struggles tokeep her disgraced eldest son'sdream alive.

The 68-year-old singlemother of three had imaginedretiring in comfort on her farmin Cambridge. Instead, she'sreluctantly inherited hertroubled son's legacy ofcrippling financial problemsand the huge responsibilityof looking after 40 big cats.

She's also being draggedthrough the courts by her

embittered son, amidailegations of stolen parkproperty, an employmentrelations issue, and a personalgrievance claim flled by Craig.

The Lion Man's devoted,Iargely female followers haveaccused Patricia of wrestlingZionfrom her son. But Craig'ssister Megan - who appeared inthe series - says nothing couldbe further from the truth.

"Mum's given up everythingfor Craig," she says. "Sinceshe moved to Zion to bail himout and save the park, herhealth has been in hugedecline. I worry about herevery single day.

"People seem to think mumis leading this life of luxury hereat the park. But she's gonefrom having a lovely farmhousein the country to living ina portacom next to the cats'cages - a cramped one-bedroombox with her office, bedroomand kitchen all in one.

"Every day, seven daysa week, she's locked up in thereon the computer, trying to keepZion going. Her eyesight hasdeclined and she's got all theseheart problems. The pressureson her are enormous."

Frail Patricia declined ourrequest for an interview. AndMegan says Craig's brotherStephen, a 43-year-old personaltrainer, doesn't talk about thesituation either. But Megan, 36,felt it was time to tell the storybehind Craig's spectacular fallfrom grace, and the devastatingimpact his actions have had

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ffion his once tight-knit family.Megan now l ives at the park,

just a few metres away fromPatricia, in the aouse Craig onceshared u' i th his then partnerKaren Greybrook.

It 's a virtual palace comparedto Patricia's quarters, but shewon't set foot in the house. Toomany bad memories, says Megan- not least memories of the nightthat Craig attacked Karen in theupstairs bedroom in January2005, gashing her head open,breaking a rib and fracturingone of her vertebra. He wasconvicted of two counts ofassault, and ordered to payKaren $8000 in reparation.

Craig was also convictedof assaulting another girlfriendln 1vvt .

Megan, an avid horsewomanwith two national titles indressage, says, "Mum was soconcerned about Craig andKaren, she packed one bag andwent straight to the park, Shethought she was only going tobe here for a few weeks, in asupporting role. Instead she'snever left.

"Mum quickly discoveredthat Craig was on the brink offinancial ruin. Unbeknown toeveryone, he d borrowed all thismoney to keep the park going.Mum didn't even hesitate tohelp him out.

"The park was Craig'sdream and ali she's ever wantedin life is for her three childrento be happy."

Since Patricia bailed Craigout flnanciallv and took over as

'Zion wouldn'tbe;here today without\\um.Fi!nobgdy

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managing director of. Zion- in sole charge of runningthe ailingbusiness - sheand Megan and a formerpark operator have receivedfrightening written andverbal death threats fromCraig's fanatical fans.

An official Facebookpage was created in Craig'shonour after he was firedfrom Zion.lt now has 44,000members and is full of hatefulmessages for the two womenand others at Zion.

Megan says that Craig,furious he was no longerthe public face of Zionand unable to make anyexecutive decisions at thepark, was so out of controltowards the end that Patriciahad to hire a security guardto protect her around theclock from him.

"He was becoming violent.He'd burst through the frontdoor of her place and justflip out," says Megan. "It wasseriously frightening.

"Mum's a very privateperson, but it's time to setthe record straight. Craigis a very very bitter man.We believe he's on amission to destroy Zion.His attitude is, if he can'thave it, no-one can."

When Patricia, a skilledbusinesswoman, took overthe job of managing director,she poured her life savingsinto savingZion- and herson. Her farm is now on themarket, and she's been forcedto sell her retirement nest egg- two Auckland houses.

"When the Lion ManTV series ended, the numberof people coming to the Parkplummeted and the donationsstopped coming in," saysMegan. "Mum had to rebuildthis place from the bottom.Zion wouldn't be here todaywithout her. But nobodyacknowledges that - leastof all my brother.

"She never even let on toanybody that she was nowin charge because she knewhow important it was forCraig, her precious first born,to keep face. But she didn't getany thanks," says Megan.

"But after Mum took over,the park gradually startedhumming again.Visitornumbers were up.Things werelooking good. But instead ofbeing grateful, Craig wasbecoming more and moreangry. He couldn't stand the

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big cats, but Dalu was better,and Craig knew it.

"The limelight from beingon television really got toCraig. He loved the attention,and he loved being the'LionMan'," says Megan. "CanI ever forgive him for theway he's behaved? Probablynot - because of what he'sdone to Mum.

"My dad left when I was19 months old, so it wasjust Mum, me, Craig andStephen at home. Mum

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fact that Mum was doingsuch a good job.

"There's Mum living in herlittle.box, working so hard tosave'his dream, and he's herein the big house, well paid asthe park's operator. With Mumhandling the business, all hehad to do was play with hiscats. Mum thought that wouldmake him happy, but hisbehaviour got more and moreout of control. He's always hada temper, and with age it'sgot worse and worse."

Megan says she watched,with sadness, the big brothershe once adored becomeincreasingly verballyaggressive and physicallythreatening towards Patriciaand the park staff. Even Craig'sfriend, senior cat handlerDalu Mncube, had beensingled out for abuse.

"In the end, it was Dalu who' looked after the cats. Craig lost

interest," says Megan. "Whatthe public don't know is thathe wasn't even here half thetime. He spent a lot of timepartying, gallivanting off toAuckland with various women,and jet skiing than he didlooking after the animals.

"Craig has a real gift with

worked full-time and raisedus on her own to be the bestthat we could be. That's whythis is all so devastating.

"l used to absolutely idoliseCraig.l was his biggest fan. Butthis is not the life our mumchose for herself. Do you think,at her age, she imagined herlife to be like this - strugglingday in and day out, seven daYsa week in a lion park?

"Every day's a battle, andevery day I watch her decline.It breatcs my heart." t@

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