When it comes to household names, Joy and George Adamson most certainly fit the bill; at least in the world of conservation. They introduced us to Elsa the Lioness and the book Born Free, which inspired an award-winning, heart-warming film, that continues to melt hearts everywhere. Joy and George Adamson were the pioneers behind this incredible journey and their conservation legacy continues today.
It couldn't have been an easy feat; living in a remote area of the African savannah, nurturing and eventually returning an orphaned lioness back into the wild. This couple's ground-breaking conservation efforts may have seemed silly to many during those early years, but the Adamson's stuck with it. In the process they laid commendable foundations for future generations.
Joy was born to the name Friederike Victoria Gessner; she was renamed by her second husband. She met George Adamson on safari in Kenya. She was a botanist with a deep interest in East African flora and fauna. George was a game warden in Northern Kenya at the time. They married in 1944.
In 1956, George brought home three lion cubs. While he had been out working in the wilderness, a lioness charged him and another warden out of the bush. He shot and killed her in defence only to realise she had been protecting her cubs- hiding nearby in a rocky crevice. In about 6 months, Joy and George found it difficult to care for all the cubs' needs. As a result, they released the two largest cubs, "Big One" and "Lustica" to a zoo in Rotterdam, and stayed with Elsa with the intention to train and release her back into the wild.
This seemingly innocent decision changed the lives of the Adamson's and set the bar for wildlife conservation in Africa. After months of survival training, Elsa was eventually successfully released into the wild, becoming the first lioness to do this and still make contact with her handlers after her release. Elsa also went on to have cubs - another remarkable event. The Adamsons kept their distance from the cubs, getting close enough only to photograph them.
Elsa died in 1961 from babesiosis, a disease resulting from a tick bite. Her cubs eventually became a nuisance, killing the livestock of locals. Fearing retaliation from the community, the Adamsons captured and transported them to the Tanganyika Territory, where they were promised a home at Serengeti National Park. They lost track of them afterwards.
Taking both notes from George's diaries and her own knowledge, Joy wrote Born Free, the book about Elsa, which was published in 1960 and became a bestseller. In 1964, actress Virginia McKenna and her husband, actor Bill Travers, came to Kenya and starred in what became an academy award-winning film. The film set off a chain of events for the Travers', ultimately leading to the creation of the Born Free Foundation, which promotes compassionate conservation to enhance the survival of threatened species in different parts of the world by aiming to protect natural habitats while respecting the needs and safeguarding the welfare of individual animals. Joy spent the rest of her life raising money for wildlife, thanks to the popularity of Born Free. She went on to write two other books: Living Free, which is about Elsa as a mother to her cubs, and Forever Free, which recounts the release of the cubs Jespah, Gopa and Little Elsa.
After Elsa's death and the release of her cubs into neighbouring Tanzania, Joy and George grew apart, and started to pursue different interests.  George had already retired as a senior game warden but wanted to continue to work with lions. Joy was focused on working with cheetahs. Both Joy and George were involved in a number of films and documentaries nevertheless.
George ran a lion reintroduction programme in northern Kenya at Kora National Park. He wrote a book and worked with a number of orphaned and captive lions including Christian the lion. Joy Adamson's Africa, a book about her paintings, was published in 1972. During her lifetime, Joy created more than 500 paintings and line drawings. Her work included portraits of the indigenous populations, animal paintings and botanical illustrations for at least seven books on East African flora. She went on to rehabilitate a cheetah and an African leopard, and wrote The Spotted Sphinx and Pippa's Challenge about Pippa and her cheetah family. Joy Adamson's posthumous and final book was titled Queen of Shaba. All her book proceeds were shared with various conservation projects.
In 1980, Joy's assistant found her murdered near her camp in Shaba National Reserve. George was also murdered by Somali bandits in Kora whilst going to the rescue of a tourist in 1989. Both their legacies remain imprinted in history and memory. The Elsamere Conservation Trust has been instrumental in many conservation and education projects since its inception. At the Elsamere Conservation Centre, located on the southern shores of Lake Naivasha, visitors can see many of Joy's paintings in the house and explore the museum with memorabilia from the lives of the Adamson's - followed by some delightful teas and lunches served on site.

About The Author

Author
Omani Joy

Subscribe to our newsletters

  • Events
  • Movies
  • KenyaBuzz Kids
  • Whatsapp/Telegram

    The latest buzz and hottest trends in a bite-size daily message