George Adamson
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George Adamson (1906- 20 August 1989), the "Lion Man" of Africa was one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation and an author. He and his wife Joy Adamson are best known through the book and film "Born Free", which depicts the true story of Elsa, an orphaned lioness cub they raised and later released into the wild.
Adamson was born in Dholpur, Rajasthan, India in 1906 then British India. He first visited Kenya in 1924. After a series of adventures, which included time as a gold prospector, he joined Kenya's game department in 1938 and, six years later, married Joy. It was in 1956 that he shot the lioness whose cub was to become world-famous as Elsa.
George Adamson retired as a game warden in 1963 and devoted himself to his many lions. In 1970, he moved to the Kora National Reserve in northern Kenya, working with Tony Fitzjohn as his right hand man, to continue the rehabilitation of captive or orphaned big cats for eventual reintroduction into the wild. George and Joy separated in 1970, but continued to spend Christmases together.
In 1989 at the age of 83, Adamson was shot to death at Kora reserve by Somali poachers. Joy herself had been murdered in 1980. [1] [2]
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[edit] Films
In 1966, James Hill directed the film Born Free, based on a book of the same title written by Joy Adamson. It starred Virginia McKenna as Joy Adamson and Bill Travers as George Adamson. Adamson served as Chief Technical Advisor on the film. [3]
Thirty-three years later, in 1999, Carl Schultz directed the film To Walk With Lions, starring actor Richard Harris as George, Honor Blackman as Joy, John Michie as Tony Fitzjohn, and Ian Bannen as George's brother Terence.
[edit] Books
- Bwana Game (1968)
- A Lifetime With Lions (Bwana Game - in the UK) (1970)
- My Pride and Joy: An autobiography (1987) ISBN 0-671-62497-0
[edit] Reference
- The Great Safari by Adrian House
[edit] Other references and external links
- Profile of Joy & George Adamson
- The Tony Fitzjohn/George Adamson African Wildlife Preservation Trust
- http://www.fatheroflions.org
- www.dottyrhino.com Animated website for kids. Meet Dotty Rhino & her friends who live in Mkomazi, a real-life game reserve in Africa.
