Honouring the Father of Lions; George Adamson

Conservationists from all over the world will next month converge at Kora National Park to commemorate the 24th anniversary of George Adamson’s death and to honor his work.

George Adamson is one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation in Africa.

During his lifetime, Adamson mainly rehabilitated captive or orphaned big cats for eventual reintroduction into the wild.

Adamson’s interest in conserving wildlife earned him the name ‘The Lion Man Of Africa’.

The event is organized by the Kenya Wildlife Service with support from other stakeholders.

The George Adamson commemoration weekend in the wild will run from Friday -August 31-to Sunday -September 1.

August 20th will be exactly 24 years since Adamson’s demise, hence the need to visit where he used to work, live and eventually buried.

The primary objective of the event is to build on the foundation laid by George Adamson’s conservation of lions in both Meru and Kora ecosystems.

The people in attendance will be involved in many activities including camping at Adamson’s Camp, climbing the Kora Rock, visiting George Adamson’s grave among many others.

Corporate organizations and individuals have also been invited to participate by sponsoring corporate teams or contributing towards the George Adamson Fund.

A participation fee will be charged as a package with an individual participant paying Ksh 4,000 and cooperate bodies paying Ksh 50,000 – a team of not more than 10 people.

The Kenya Wildlife Service has waived park entry categorization for visitors between the 30th August and 1st September, 2013.

– See more at: http://www.medinaresidences.com/blog/?p=925#sthash.cDhqbVN1.dpuf

A few weeks back, conservationists from all over the world converged at Kora National Park to commemorate the 24th anniversary of George Adamson’s death and to honour his work. The commemoration weekend took place in the wild from Friday 31Aug – Sunday 1 Sept.

Participants of the event engaged in a myriad of activities that included;

Camping at Adamson’s Camp and Tana River Campsite
Climbing of Kora Rock
Visit to cultural manyattas and exhibition of cultural artifacts from different cultures surrounding the Park
Cultural night on Saturday
Watching of George Adamson films and Gallery Exhibition – in the Adamson camp
Visit to Kora Rapids
Visit to George Adamson’s grave and main speeches during the visit to the grave
Entertainment by neighboring communities at the grave side and also in the campsite

Organized by the Kenya Wildlife Service with support from other stakeholders, the event’s primary objective was to build on the foundation laid by George Adamson’s conservation of lions in both Meru and Kora ecosystems.

KWS Director Mr.William K. Kiprono at Kora National Park(The Last Wilderness) during the George Adamson Anniversary weekend.

This man George Adamson

George Alexander Graham Adamson was born in Etawah, India (then British India) on 3rd February 1906 of English and Irish parents. At age 18, George made his way to Kenya to work on his father’s coffee plantation. His adventurous spirit did not however allow him to stay in the plantations for long as he shifted gears and ventured into many other different things including gold prospecting, goat trading and safari hunting. George Adamson’s life as “Baba ya Simba” (father of lions) began back in 1938 at age 32 when he joined Kenya’s Game Department as a warden.

Famed as the ‘Lion Man of Africa’ and regarded as one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation, George Adamson is best Known from the book and award winning film ‘Born Free’ which features the story of elsa, an orphaned lioness that he raised and released into the wild together with his wife Joy whom he had married six years after joining the Game department. Elsa the lioness would not only come to change George and Joy’s lives but through subsequent books, movies and films, she promoted an enormous interest in conservation with the general public. At about age three, the Adamsons embarked on a feat that had not been attempted before i.e to teach Elsa to hunt and introduce her back into the wild.

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The Adamsons, as Joy feeds a lion

Virginia McKenna, George Adamson, Bill Travers and Joy Adamson
Virginia and her real life husband Bill Travers played the roles of Joy and George in the award winning movie BORN FREE.

George and Elsa at the river

“No one better knew the language and lives of lions – or loved them more – than George Adamson.” – The Christian Science Monitor

“The Adamsons gave us truths about the species that cannot be found in a biologist’s notebook…Their efforts at reintroduction and rehabilitation taught the scientific community invaluable lessons and the conservation community will forever be indebted to them…” – George Schaler

Much as her chances for survival in the wild were slim, Elsa succeeded and remarkably continued her bond of trust and affection with the Adamsons. She remained their beloved friend until her unfortunate death believed to have been brought about by a tick disease. Elsa died with her head in George’s lap. She is buried in Meru National Park near the river and to this day many visitors to Meru pass by her grave to pay their respects. Read more of the Adamson’s and Elsa’s story here: http://www.fatheroflions.org/George_BlogArticle.html

Elsa and George Resting Together

My Elsa gone. Gone the most wonderful friend and part of my life which nothing can replace. Why should it be? Something which has created nothing but good will and love in the world.” George Adamson.

George retired from his position as senior game warden of the Northern Frontier province of Kenya, presently around the Meru National Park area in April 1961. This move would enable him to devote himself fully to working with lions. In 1970, he moved to the Kora National Reserve in northern Kenya where he worked with Tony Fitzjohn as his right-hand man. Together, they continued the rehabilitation of captive or orphaned big cats for eventual reintroduction into the wild.

George with boy lion

George Adamson and Boy the Lion taking a nap in the shade of a tree.

George Adamson narrated his many adventures in his double titled biography, ‘Bwana Game’ (European title) and ‘A Lifetime with Lions’(USA title). His publishing ‘My Pride and Joy’ is equally another fascinating autobiography. Although many people feared that living with the lions could pose a danger to the Adamsons, it became apparent that their worst enemies were of their own Kind – Humans. In 1989, George Adamson was murdered by Somali bandits as he attempted to rescue a young European tourist and one of his assistants at the Kora National Park. 20th August this year, marked 24 years since his demise. He is buried at a site known as Kambi ya Simba (lion’s camp) in the Kora National Park beside his brother Terrance Adamson, Super Cub and his beloved lion friend, Boy. George died at the age of 83.

A young Lion, holding a twig in his mouth, visits George’s Grave the day after his burial

Boy the Lion’s final resting place

There will never be another person like George Adamson. His was a rugged lifestyle, in a bush camp with only a few modern conveniences. He lived in harmony with nature and he shared a truly beautiful and almost unbelievable friendship with his beloved lion friends. He was truly a unique and wonderful gentleman who devoted his life to helping wildlife and to protecting the unique environment in which they lived.

He was a Hero to the end…giving his life to save another! http://www.fatheroflions.org/GeorgeAdamson_Information.html

“Who will now care for the animals, for they cannot look after themselves? Are there young men and women who are willing to take on this charge? Who will raise their voices, when mine is carried away on the wind, to plead their case?”

George Adamson 1906-1989

Related article

The moving story of Christian the Lion whom George helped to release to the wild: turbotalkblog.wordpress.com

Photo credits; Fatheroflions.org