2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the publication of “Born Free” – a book and then a film that changed forever the way we think about wildlife. What has happened to lions since this story? What has happened to the people featured in the film? And what has “Born Free” taught us? Buy the DVD. This film premiered January 9, 2011.

How has Elsa’s story changed the way you view lions and other wild animals? Share your story.

“Born Free” star, Virginia McKenna, returns to Elsa’s camp.

Elsa Conservation Trust
Joy Adamson’s wildlife conservation organization that was founded in 1963.

IUCN | Panthera Leo Overview
A comprehensive overview of the current status of lions living in the African wild.

Panthera | Lion Overview
An overview of the lion by Panthera, an organization focused on wild cat conservation.

Lion Research Center
The center, headed by Craig Packer, conducts extensive research around wild lion populations, and provides information and findings to the general public, students, and scientists.

Time Magazine | Nowhere to Roam, Aug. 2004
An article outlining current efforts by scientists to decrease human-lion conflicts in Africa.

Vogue Magazine | The Lion Saver: Leela Hazzah, Nov. 2009
An article on a conservation program that enlists local community members to help protect wild lion populations.

Telegraph | Lions Face Extinction in Kenya Within 20 Years, Jan. 2011
A news story on Kenya’s struggling lion populations.

Smithsonian Magazine | The Truth About Lions, Jan. 2010
An article profiling Craig Packer, Director of the Lion Research Center.

Regional Conservation Strategy for the Lion, Dec. 2006
Lion distribution and status report published by the Regional Lion Conservation Strategy for Eastern and Southern Africa.

Books:

Adamson, Joy. Born Free. Pantheon Books, 1960.

Adamson, Joy. Living Free: The Story of Elsa and Her Cubs. Harcourt, 1961.

Adamson, Joy. Forever Free: Elsa’s Pride. Harcourt, 1962.

Adamson, George. My Pride and Joy. Simon & Schuster, 1986.

© Sacha Mirzoeff

Craig Packer is a Professor at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior. Research interests include ecology of infectious diseases, ecosystem processes in African savannas, and conservation strategies for mitigating problem-animal conflicts. Packer is the Director of Lion Research Center and a co-founder of Savannas Forever Tanzania (SFTZ). Packer received a J.S. Guggenheim Fellowship in 1990, became a Distinguished McKnight University Professor in 1997, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003. He is the author of “Into Africa,” which won the 1995 John Burroughs medal, and more than 100 scientific articles, most of which are about lions.

How did you first get interested in lions and how long have you been involved in lion research and conservation?

I took over the Serengeti lion project in 1978. I was first attracted to lions by their reputation for cooperation and the fact that they are the only social cats.

Why do you think there has been historically less attention given to lions than other species that are facing population decline?

They are found in most East African and South African parks and reserves and they are much easier to observe than, say, leopards or any of the other wild felids. But it has taken time to realize that the tourist areas of the major parks are about the only place where lions are reasonably well protected – so they are no longer the tip of the iceberg but pretty much the only lions left in the wild.

What are the primary factors that have attributed to the decline of lion populations over the past fifty years?

Loss of prey, persecution in retaliation for cattle killing and man-eating and sport hunting.

You conduct daily monitoring of lion populations for research purposes. How do you track the lions and what have you learned about the species through this process? How does monitoring lions help in your conservation efforts?

We have discovered why lions have manes, why they live in groups, why they nurse each other’s young, why they do (or don’t) hunt cooperatively, and what regulates their population size in natural ecosystems. By monitoring the lions on a daily basis we have also been able to document the effects of close inbreeding, identify the diseases that threaten their health and measure the extent to which local people kill lions in retaliation for livestock losses.(Find out more.)

Why is there a growing risk of inbreeding among lion populations? Why is this harmful to the species and what can be done to prevent it?

As the lions inside national parks become cut off from larger populations they inevitably start breeding with their close relatives. This increases the risks that harmful genetic variants will be expressed in their offspring and reduces genetic variability. We suspect that the lion population in Ngorongoro Crater is adversely affected by inbreeding through an increased susceptibility to infectious diseases.

What are human-lion conflicts? What can be done to limit or assuage these types of conflicts?

Lions eat thousands of livestock and may attack over a hundred people in Tanzania each year. It is essential to improve livestock husbandry practices so that people don’t need to retaliate in the first place. In places with high levels of man-eating, we have found that the lions are drawn to agricultural areas in pursuit of bush pigs – a nocturnal crop pest. Poor farmers sleep in their fields to protect their crops against the pigs, and the lions stumble on to an opportunity for an easy meal. We are exploring cheap ways to exclude bush pigs from agricultural areas.

Is it possible to regulate trophy hunting in such a way that it would have low-impact on lion populations?

Trophy hunting has a greater impact on lions than on buffalo or impala because a male lion is someone’s father and female lions spend two years rearing each litter. As long as dad remains with his pride, his cubs are reasonably safe. But replacement males refuse to be step-fathers and instead kill cubs so as to be able to mate with the females right away. So by killing the keystone individuals in each pride, trophy hunters may end up causing the death of the next generation. Because males generally take over their first pride by their 4th birthday and it takes 2 years to successfully rear a set of cubs, males shouldn’t be “harvested” until they are at least 6 yrs of age. Unfortunately, lion trophy hunters have routinely shot males as young as 2-3 yrs of age and have therefore had a serious impact on lion populations throughout Africa.

What work are you doing with the Whole Village Project? How does this work relate to your work with lions?

The root cause of the Conservation Crisis in Africa is rapid human population growth. The population of Tanzania has quadrupled since I first went to work with Jane Goodall in Gombe in 1972. The growing rural population needs to eat, thus large tracts of wildlife habitat have been converted to agriculture and bushmeat remains an essential source of animal protein in many parts of the country. But we are nearing the point of no return, and I doubt that many of Tanzania’s game reserves and national parks will remain viable 100 years from now. The one sure way to reduce human population growth is economic development. Currently 90% of Tanzanians live in poverty and the growth rate is nearly 3% per year. Whenever a nation crosses a threshold in economic development, people reduce their preferred number of children from about 6-8 kids to only 2 or 3. This is called the “demographic transition” and it is the only hope for African wildlife. I helped start the Whole Village Project because numerous well-intended, well-funded economic development projects are being implemented in rural Tanzania – but their outcomes are not measured. Time is short and the development agencies need to be as effective as possible, so we are trying to develop a system whereby their impacts can be measured objectively.

Are there specific areas in Africa that researchers and conservationists are targeting to carry out their work? Why?

There are four key ecosystems where lions must be protected if the species is to survive for the next hundred years: Kruger National Park in South Africa, the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Serengeti National Park in Tanzania and Selous Game Reserve, also in Tanzania. Each of these reserves still holds over 1,000 lions (large enough to prevent risks of inbreeding and to withstand environmental perturbations) and their associated herbivore communities are safely protected. If these four areas can be protected, the lion will be far better off than tigers. But while Kruger, Serengeti and Okavango are reasonably well managed, the Selous relies on revenues from trophy hunting and is seriously underfunded.

George and Joy Adamson were big proponents of taking previously captive lions and reintroducing them back into the wild. What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of rehabilitation programs?

Lions can only survive in areas with adequate prey and no human persecution. If lions have been eradicated from an area, the source of the conflict must be resolved before attempting any sort of translocation. Finally, the lions must be completely self-sufficient and must not view humans as a source of provisions or comfort. This eliminates any sort of return to the wild by captive-born animals.

Lion translocation has been highly successful in South Africa where dozens of former cattle ranches were returned to their natural state, first as game ranches then as fully restored wildlife areas. The first step of these translocations always started with a lion-proof fence and the complete approval of the communities surrounding the reserves – with the understanding that the lions would be destroyed if they escape. Importantly, though, these always involve wild-caught lions.

Do you consider George and Joy Adamson the first modern-day lion conservationists? How has their work impacted future generations of lion experts and conservationists?

The Born Free story has certainly inspired numerous imitators, but I’m not aware of any cases where the captive-born lion successfully survived. Some were shot by trophy hunters, some were killed by poachers, some had to be destroyed after attacking people. Translocation works because it focuses on re-establishing lions in a well-defined area using wild-caught lions. Rescuing a captive lion fails because it tries to make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse.

Do you remember when you first learned about Elsa? Did her story affect you or change your perception of lions at the time?

I was a kid when the film came out and I remember thinking that the theme song was rather pompous and corny. Then I met Bill Travers on the plane to Kigoma during my first trip to Gombe in 1972 and heard a lot about George Adamson’s later re-introduction projects in Kora from friends in Kenya in 1978. Elsa’s cubs were released into the Serengeti in 1961 and though Adamson thought he might have seen “Little Elsa” in the following year, it’s likely that they were all killed by Serengeti lions shortly after release. Lions are highly territorial and readily attack strangers; young nomads seldom survive after leaving their natal prides.

Do you think the Born Free story perpetuates a kind of myth about wild animals and our relationship to them?

Biographical stories always seem to resonate with the general public whereas concerns about populations and habitat seem to leave people cold. Best of all, Born Free involved people touching lions and somehow made it seem like we can fix nature if only we prepare enough chicken soup. Politics, villages, broad swathes of wild Africa – these are much harder to manage. But if the world can’t find ways to protect a place like the Selous, you can forget about the lion, no matter how many cute cubs we cuddle.

Finally, what are some of the things that people can do to help save Africa’s wild lion populations?

Rural poverty in Africa is a profound moral challenge with enormous implications for global health and security. If Africa can develop economically to the same extent as Asia and Latin America, the resultant drop in human population growth would reduce pressure on Africa’s savannas and wildlife. Lions breed like rabbits, as long as they have a safe place to live. There are still a few places in Africa with 20,000-55,000 km2 of healthy habitat. Keep these large parks intact until the next millennium, and the lion will go on forever.

© Bryan Adams

Virginia McKenna starred in the 1966 film “Born Free” alongside her husband Bill Travers. Deeply inspired by their work on the film, they became wildlife activists. In 1984, McKenna and Travers started Zoo Check, later renamed the Born Free Foundation, an International wildlife charity working to prevent animal cruelty and suffering.

This interview was conducted by Inside Thirteen.

Are there any memories of making Born Free that stand out to you that you can share with us?

There are so many memories! Sharing dawn walks with lions on the African plains. Swimming with a lioness in the ocean. Remembering the start of our friendship with George Adamson, which continued until his murder in 1989. It was through him we learned about lions – why and how they respond to different circumstances. How to gain their trust, how to look at things from their point of view. Living in an old settler’s house in the bush, within roaring distance of the lions. The kindness of the Kenyan people we met and with whom we worked. And, of course, the vast Kenya skies with their extraordinary cloud formations which, miraculously, never seemed to obscure the sun.

Perhaps one of my most treasured memories is walking out with Girl (one of the lionesses “playing” Elsa) and her brother Boy and seeing a small group of Thomson’s gazelles some distance away. Suddenly Girl took off, stalked them, brought one down, killed it and then, in proper lion fashion, dragged it to us and laid it at my feet. She let us pick it up and put it in the back of the Land Rover to take back to camp. It really made us believe we were part of her pride.

You and your husband started a production company in 1968 to make wildlife documentaries. Do you have a favorite of these films?

My husband, Bill Travers, was the documentary filmmaker. Over the years, from 1966, he formed various independent film companies – Morning Star, Limelight Productions, and Swan Productions. His first film was the story of what happened to some of the lions that were in Born Free. Only three out of over 20 were given to George Adamson to rehabilitate back to the wild. It was the start of the work George was to continue until his death and Bill filmed this unique footage in “The Lions are Free.”

He made many amazing films – “Bloody Ivory,” about elephants being poached for the ivory trade, (tragically still happening today) and the orphans who are left behind when their mothers are killed. David Sheldrick, the then Senior Game Warden of Tsavo National Park was striving to catch the poachers and his wife, Daphne, cared for the orphans – amazing work she continues to this day. “The Queen’s Garden,” the life of the garden at Buckingham Palace, filmed over the period of a year, with an appearance by her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and with a wonderful music score by John Scott. “Christian, The Lion at World’s End” – a clip from which has been viewed on YouTube millions of times. Bill’s chance encounter with this young lion and his owners in a shop in London enabled Christian, through Bill’s unfailing endeavours, to be returned to the wild in Kenya by George Adamson, after spending 4 months in a compound in our garden in the country, cared for by his owners Ace Bourke and John Rendall. Apart from the first scene where we met Christian, the whole documentary was filmed as it happened.

A feature film which he co-wrote and produced with James Hill (who directed Born Free and “Christian, the Lion at World’s End”) was “An Elephant Called Slowly,” in 1968. This film means a lot to me, as it was then that we met a little two-year-old elephant who had been captured from the wild by the then Kenyan Government as a gift to London Zoo. We made the film in Tsavo with the Sheldrick’s orphaned elephants as well. When filming ended, our request to buy the little one, Pole Pole, was granted but we were told another would have to be captured for the zoo. An intolerable thought. She came to the zoo. It was her death there, as a teenager, that propelled us into forming a charity to look at the situations wild animals face in captivity. Pole Pole’s death could not be in vain. Originally called Zoo Check, it was renamed The Born Free Foundation in 1991.

During pre-production on Born Free, you broke your ankle when a lion jumped on you. Were you nervous at all about something like this happening during the making of the film, or were you and the cast comfortable with the animals on set?

No, I wasn’t nervous about having an accident during the making of the film. The incident you mention was just chance. It only happened because the lion, Boy, was very excited. We had, with Girl, been stalking some gazelles out on an old airstrip. The gazelles were a long way off and our two were getting a bit frustrated. I think he decided I would be a bit easier to knock over! But apart from that he did not hurt me at all and we were very comfortable together when I eventually returned to work. The crew was protected in wire “cages” as it was important the focus of the relationship was between the lions, Bill, George and myself.

What was your experience working with Nature like?

I was very fortunate that, through taking part in the documentary, I was able to return to Kenya, to travel up to Meru, and revisit the places where Elsa lived, brought her cubs to the Adamson’s camp and where she died. I also went to the site of George’s first little camp where Bill made “The Lions are Free.” It is always a nostalgic experience for me when I return to these quiet, unassuming places where a kind of history was made. The Director, Sacha Mirzoeff, and the crew on the documentary were particularly sensitive and nice people and I felt very fortunate.

Was there anything you were surprised to learn about the Adamsons during the making of the film?

No, there wasn’t really anything that surprised me. I had only just read the book, so that is all I knew! Later I learned much more and I am aware that Joy often came in for strong criticism. I have to say that during the filming she was totally helpful and approachable. Following filming I spent an extraordinary three days with her in Meru. She was a passionate, sometimes unreasonable and volatile person but through her financial generosity three game parks were saved and look at the story she has left us. Of course, that story could not have happened without George, our lion man, loved and respected by us all. It was the two of them that made it happen – so different, yet bound together by their commitment to wild animals being able to live as nature intended – in the wild.

What do you feel is the biggest threat to animals in the wild today? Has it changed since Born Free was made?

Well, there is more threat to wild animals today than ever. Poaching, hunting, over fishing, poisoning, trapping, reduction of habitat (increased human population and therefore human/animal conflict), traditional Chinese medicine, climate change, capturing for zoos and circuses – the list is endless. Man’s insatiable need to own, to possess, to manipulate, to have everything his own way is wrecking the balance of nature. Some may say I see nature through “rose tinted glasses.” I refute that. I am a realist, and I believe that what we are doing to wild places and wild animals is one of the greatest tragedies of our time. Some say nature is “red in tooth and claw.” That is one way of putting it. I call it survival. Sadly humans, without the survival element, have the reddest and sharpest teeth and claws of all.

© Sacha Mirzoeff

Why lions have manes:

Though the lion’s mane has long been believed to provide a shield around the male’s neck, lions do not target the necks of their opponents. Instead, the mane serves as a reliable indicator of the male’s quality: males with darker manes live longer and their offspring have higher survival. Females prefer to mate with dark-maned males while rival males are inhibited by them.

Why lions live in groups:

Lions form like-sexed gangs that fight each other vigorously. Male coalitions compete for access to females, and female prides compete intensively for access to prime real estate. Larger coalitions gain more females over their lifetimes while larger prides gain higher quality territories.

Why lions nurse each other’s young:

Females rear their cubs together in a “creche” so as to be able to defend their cubs collectively against incursions by potentially infanticidal males. Female lions sleep most of the day, and cubs sneak milk from females other their own mother when they can. Additionally, females produce the same amount of milk whether they have a litter of one or four cubs. Thus mothers of singleton cubs can afford to be less watchful of parasitic non-offspring.

What determines whether or not lions hunt cooperatively:

Lions mostly hunt cooperatively when they need to. For example, everyone lends a hand when the pride is hunting large dangerous prey such as Cape buffalo. But when a single hunter is likely to succeed by herself, the rest of the pride is content to let her do all the work.

What regulates their population size in natural ecosystems:

Lion populations are essentially limited by space: being territorial, prides of lions defend as large of an area as they can. When the habitat is filled with established prides, new prides cannot establish themselves. The size of a territory is ultimately set by prey density. Lion territories are smaller in parks and reserves with higher prey densities.

Information provided by Dr. Craig Packer, Director of the Lion Research Center. More information can be found on their website.

© Sacha Mirzoeff

Common Name: African Lion

Family: Felidae

Genus: Panthera

Species: leo

Size: Males average 48 inches in height and 78 inches in length. Females average 42 inches in height and 66 inches in length. The lion is the second largest feline after the tiger.

Weight: Males average 330 to 500 lbs. Females average 265 to 400 lbs.

Coat: Tawny yellow coat. Adult males have a thick mane of brown or black hair. Lions are the only cat species to have prominent physical differences between the two genders.

Habitat: Grassy plains, the savanna, open woodlands, and dense bush. African lions live in warm environments.

Diet: Lions tend to eat ungulates like impala, wildebeest, zebra, giraffe, and buffalo, though they can feed on smaller animals like hares, birds or reptiles. They also scavenge, taking other animals’ kills.

Geography: The African lion used to cover the majority of the continent, with the exception of the Saharan desert and the Congo basin’s dense rainforest. The lion has since disappeared from northern Africa and now lives mostly in the southern and eastern regions of the continent.

Population Health: Vulnerable (according to the IUCN)

Threats: Humans – Urban expansion results in habitat loss, fragmentation, and a decrease in food sources. People will also retaliate against lions that feed on domestic livestock or are aggressive toward neighboring human populations. Lions are threatened by disease and ecological changes to their environment.

Additional Facts:

• Lions were found in ancient Greece until approximately 100 AD. Lions even surface in Greek mythology. The first of Hercules’ twelve labors was to slay the giant lion of Nemea.
• While most cat species live a relatively solitary life, lions live in large groups referred to as prides. Prides generally consist of a number of females, their cubs, and one to three adult males.
• Females do almost all of the hunting. Lionesses tend to hunt at night and work in teams to stalk and ambush prey.
• Male lions are responsible for marking and protecting the pride’s territory.
• Lions mate perennially and produce a litter of two to three cubs. Cubs tend to remain with the mother for at least two years.
• When new males take over a pride, they often kill the existing cubs to get rid of that genetic strain and also so that the females will come into heat and allow the new males to sire their own cubs.
• Although lions are commonly referred to as “King of the Jungle,” this moniker is inaccurate. Lions live in grassy, open lands like savannas, not jungles.
• The Swahili word for lion, Simba, means “king”.

“Quite often our work is called a waste of time and resources, as lions are not endangered as a species. This is true at the moment but, as a yardstick for action, is dangerously shortsighted.”
– George Adamson

The “King of Beasts”: Vulnerable?

While Joy and George Adamson were living in the wide expanse of the Kenyan bush in the mid-twentieth century, there was little interest in lion conservation. The big cat was considered widespread and abundant; their future seemed guaranteed. But times have changed.

Historical population estimates of wild lions in Africa vary widely because the data is so sparse. Current studies tell us that there or only 6 or 7 viable populations of 1,000 or more lions left in the key wildlife reserves in Africa, with a possible total of only 20,000 to 25,000 in all living in the wild. While the figures aren’t exact, the trend is clear. An animal whose future was once assumed is now on the quick path to extinction. Kenya, the country where Elsa was born and raised, reports a loss of 100 lions annually. Dr. Laurence Frank, a conservation biologist at University of California Berkeley, has predicted that wild lions in Kenya could be extinct within two decades. In response to a sharp and continuing population decline, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the species as vulnerable – a word previously unassociated with lions.

Perhaps the best indicator of what has happened to lions is to take a look at what has happened to their range. They once roamed the entire continent, with the exception of the center of the Saharan desert and the Congo basin’s dense rainforest. Today, lions have disappeared from 80% of that historical range. They now exist in only 28 countries in Africa, and are extinct in 26 others. Although much wildlife has experienced habitat loss over time, the lion has been hit particularly hard. In a 1983 report, R.H.N. Smithers wrote: “There is probably no other species whose distribution range has shrunk over historical times to the extent shown by the lion.” Today, lions cover only 10% of the continent, primarily in the southern and eastern regions.

What Has Caused This Decline?

The issues plaguing the lion are similar to the ones that threaten many other species. Human-animal conflict tops the list. As human populations grow, people and animals increasingly compete for resources. Urban expansion encroaches on previously cat-friendly habitats and this geographical crunch also depletes animal populations that lions rely on as food sources. And as humans take over more land, the lion’s territory becomes severely fragmented. What makes fragmentation so damaging to a species? Inbreeding tends to increase when prides are confined to small, disconnected pockets of land and with less genetic diversity, lions become more susceptible to disease.

Since 1960, Kenya’s human population has grown from 8 million to close to 40 million. No doubt, the Kenyan lions of today have less country to inhabit and fewer resources than Elsa had half a century ago.

People have also attacked lions in order to protect livestock that might otherwise become a lion’s lunch. And trophy hunting, a highly lucrative business, can be particularly harmful when unregulated. While other factors, like disease and ecological changes are responsible for population decline, until human-lion relations improve, the future of the big cat looks grim.

1910 – Friederike Victoria Gessner (Joy Adamson) is born in what is now the Czech Republic.

1924 – George Adamson moves to Kenya. At the time, Kenya is still an English colony.

1938 – George joins Kenya’s game department as a warden of the Northern Frontier District.

Joy Adamson with Elsa.
© Elsa Conservation Trust

1944 – Joy and George marry.

1947 – Joy begins a series of paintings to record tribal life and customs. The project takes six years and includes 700 portraits.

1956 – George, now senior game warden, kills a charging lioness while searching for a man-eating lion. He takes her three cubs back to the camp. Two of the cubs, Big One and Lustica, are taken to a zoo but Joy fights to keep the third cub, Elsa.

1959 – George begins efforts to reintroduce Elsa into the wild.

1960 – BBC Presenter David Attenborough travels to Kenya to do a piece on Elsa.

1960 – Born Free is published. It is hugely successful, selling 5 million copies and is translated into 24 languages.

1961 – Elsa dies of tick fever and is buried in Meru National Park.

1961 – George retires as a game warden and focuses exclusively on his work with lions.

1963 – Joy founds the Elsa Conservation Trust, an organization committed to wildlife conservation.

Virginia McKenna during the filming of “Born Free”.
© Born Free Foundation

1965 – George heads an effort to reintroduce three lions featured in the Born Free film – Boy, Girl, and Ugas – back into the wild.

1966 – Columbia Pictures releases the film Born Free. It becomes a box office hit all over the world and stars real-life husband and wife Bill Travers and Virginia McKenna. They are deeply inspired by their work on the film and become wildlife activists.

1968 – The lion Boy attacks a child. Although he survives, the incident tarnishes the reputation of his rehabilitation program.

1970 – George moves to Kora to continue the program.

1971 – George’s assistant, Stanley, is killed by Boy. George is forced to shoot Boy.

1980 – Joy Adamson is killed in Kenya. Initially thought to be a lion attack, it is later proven that her murderer was an angry employee.

1980 – George’s brother Terence Adamson is mauled by a lion. The Kenyan Government refuses to allow any new cubs to enter the rehabilitation program.

1984 – McKenna and Travers establish the Born Free Foundation, an International wildlife charity working to prevent animal cruelty and suffering.

George Adamson with Elsa. © Elsa Conservation Trust

1986 – George publishes his autobiography, My Pride and Joy.

1988 – The Kenyan Government reinstates George’s program and he is given three orphan cubs to rehabilitate into the wild.

1989 – George Adamson, aged 83, is shot dead by bandits in Kenya. He is buried next to his favorite lion, Boy.