LIVING AND WALKING WITH LIONS! George Adamson. Born Etawah, India, in 1906, to an English mother and an Irish father. Attended a boarding school in England. Enjoyed hiking in Scotland with younger brother Terence and dreamed of big game hunting in Africa. Went to Kenya in 1924 aged of 18 to work on his fathers coffee plantation. Wasn’t satisfied with that type of work and briefly tried many diverse jobs. In 1938, at age 32, he joined Kenyas Game Department as a warden and found an occupation that suited him. 4 years later he met and married Joy Bally (as soon as she could divorce her wealthy botanist husband). In early 1956, George Adamson was sent to track down a man-eating lion that had been terrorizing several villages. He and his hunting party startled a lioness and her cubs in the deep bush. When the lioness charged he had no choice but to shoot. February 1st, 1956, was the day he brought the lion cubs home to Joy, two of which were later sent to a Dutch zoo. The Adamsons kept and reared the smallest cub, which they named Elsa. Thus began the events, which would prove pivotal not only for the life of the Adamsons but for the very foundation of modern conservation. After Elsa had grown to about 3 years old, the Adamsons decided to re-integrate her back into the wild, rather than send her to a zoo. This had never before been attempted. Elsa was patiently taken back into the bush and encouraged to develop her instincts to hunt and survive in the wild. In April 1961 he retired as Senior Game Warden (Meru National Park), to devote himself to working with lions. To share their experiences and stimulate interest in wild animals Joy wrote the book Born Free, about their experiences with Elsa. After release it rapidly this captivating story became an international best-seller and one of the great conservation stories of all time.
Posted on: Sat, 09 Aug 2014 16:20:26 +0000
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