National Park After Dark - The Couple Who Lived and Died for Lions: Meru National Park

Episode Date: June 30, 2025

George and Joy Adamson lived for lions. After raising a cub they named Elsa and telling the world about it, they were catapulted into the center of conservation and controversy. Their methods were questioned, but their love for the wild was not. While they were both murdered, their legacy remains alive in Africa and beyond.Grab some Merch!Listen to Watch Her Cook on Apple and Spotify! Follow us on InstagramFor a full list of our sources, visit npadpodcast.com/episodesFor the latest NPAD updates, group travel details, merch and more, follow us on npadpodcast.com and our socials at:Instagram: @‌nationalparkafterdarkTikTok: @‌nationalparkafterdarkSupport the show by becoming an Outsider and receive ad free listening, bonus content and more on Patreon or Apple Podcasts. Want to see our faces? Catch full episodes on our YouTube Page!Thank you to the week’s partners!IQBAR: Text PARK to 64000 to get 20% off all IQBAR products and free shipping.iRestore: Reverse hair loss with @iRestorelaser and unlock HUGE savings on the iRestore Elite with the code NPAD at https://www.irestore.com/NPAD!Hello Fresh: Use our link to get up to 10 FREE meals and a free item for life.Pagagen: For an extra 25% off your order and a special gift, head to Pacagen.com/NPAD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Close your eyes. Listen to Monday.com. Feel the sensation of an AI work platform. So flexible and intuitive, it feels like it was built just for you. Now open your eyes, go to Monday.com. Start for free and finally, breathe. Girl, winter is so last season. And now Springs got you looking at pictures of tank tops with hungry eyes. Your algorithm is feeding you cutoffs. You're thirsty for the sun on your shoulders. That perfect hang on the patio sundress. Those sandals you can wear all day and all night. And you've had enough of shopping from your couch. Done hoping it looks anything like the picture when you tear open that envelope? It's time for a little in-person spring treat. It's time for a trip to Ross. Work your magic.

One of my favorite quotes of all time is by Khalil Jamison. And it reads, Relationships of all kinds are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. Held loosely with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, the relationship slips away and is lost. When we love something, we sometimes try to control it, to keep all danger away.

We may think that if we can just keep a close eye on everything, eliminate every risk, and make every decision, if we hold on too tightly, that we can create a world free of heartbreak and loss. That maybe, just maybe, we can systematically create a world where nothing can go wrong. But that desire to protect can begin to skew reality. It's risky to assume that we know best. In our quest to fiercely protect those that we love, sometimes we create an artificial bubble of safety, a bubble that will inevitably eventually burst. Welcome to National Park After Dark.

I had never heard that quote before, but man, do I resonate with it? I think, to be honest, I saw it many years ago when Instagram was really first starting to take hold, and all people posted were either food picks or like quotes. Yeah. The good old days. The glory days. The Golden Age of Instagram. I remember I screenchotted it because I loved it so much and I resonated it.

And I resonated with it so profoundly. And it's just never left my mind because it's so applicable to every scenario, every relationship. And as a lover of freedom and wanting to have it for myself but also provide it for others, it's like it's the best. Yeah. The second I've ever felt suffocated in a relationship is the moment I've known that it wasn't going to last. Yeah. Don't fence me in. It's also my favorite song of all time.

Okay. So, yeah, we are doing the damn thing today with one of my favorite stories ever. And I hope that you'll, you are all ready for kind of a lengthy episode, but one that has everything, it has twist, turns, it has animals, it has conservation, it has murder. It has it all. And your favorite episode. And we're four years into doing podcasts. Like, we're still full of surprises, I guess. I don't know, though. I don't know. It'll be a top. It's just, of course, you know, the animal topics are my favorite. Yeah. So I got to rank it up there. But I don't want to set the bar too high. It's already set. I'm ready. Okay, great. Well, let's get into it then. For centuries, Europeans had a very particular view of Africa and its wildlife. It was referred to as the dark continent full of dangerous animals. a place in which only brave, noble, and adventurous people, mostly men, ventured to hunt, shoot, capture, and conquer. Big game hunters would proudly pose with their trophies, animals that were viewed simply as commodities. Stories were written about these hunts and cinemas proudly played footage of men in khaki standing atop their prized possessions. What the world saw of Africa and its

diverse, amazing world of wildlife was a far cry from what we see today on screen. Switch on Netflix, not Geo, or any other streaming service, and you can easily find dozens of nature documentaries highlighting the beauty of Africa and the importance of preserving the animals who live there. For me, programs like Mirr Cat Manor and Big Cat Diary were integral pieces of my after-school ritual, shows in which I could sit on my couch in New Hampshire and be transported into the lives of creatures a world away, where I could fall in love with individual animals, their quirks and personalities, and watch them navigate their lives. So what changed?

How did we go from killing animals to coveting them? Did you watch either of those shows? No, I haven't seen it. Are you kidding me? Mirat Manor? I've never heard of it. My headphones just fell off my head. I'm in such, my head is just blown.

My mind's blown. You've never seen Mirat Manor? No. I've never even heard of it. Oh my God. When we went to see the Miracats like in real life when we had our group trip, That's all I could think about was Mirkat Manor. It was literally a show that followed this group of mere cats. I don't know exactly what they're called. You know, like a murder of crows, a herd of horses. Like I don't know a pod of dolphins. I don't know what they're called. But it followed this family of mere cats and just their day-to-day lives. And they all had like different names and you got to know all of them and the perils of their life out in the Savannah. And. It had like multiple seasons.

No idea. Okay. I'll add it to my list. Big Cat Diary. That neither. Oh, my God. Zabumafu. Okay.

Zabuifu, I understand why your mind's going there because it's animals. But these shows were more of like, let me follow this one group of animals for a long time and get to know them. Like it was a documentary style. Yeah, kind of. And you watched it as, was it a kid show? It was kind of, well, yeah, it was like, I wouldn't say it was a children's program, but it was on like Animal Planet or it was a family friendly show. Gotcha. But it wasn't like kids, kids because sometimes the animals died, you know, and it was sad.

It wasn't like a, it wasn't as a boomafoo bubble wrapped. Yeah. Type of. I mean, I watched Animal Planet growing up, but I don't remember that. I'm appalled for one, but that's fine. I'll forgive you. And we'll move on. Thank God.

When Joy Adamson was born in 1910, her name wasn't Joy Adamson. It was Frederic Gessner. The name she would later become known by was given to her by different men that she loved, or at least kind of tolerated. She grew up in what is now the Czech Republic, studied art in Vienna, and in 1937, she was on a ship to Kenya, which was at the time still a part of the British Empire, when she met a botanist named Peter Bailey. The two got married, and it was Joy's second marriage, and Peter was the first to start calling her Joy, and it stuck. Seven years into their marriage, Joy was traveling around Kenya,

creating botanical paintings of the varied and vibrant plants that she encountered. For the time being, Joy was content to document the natural world just as she saw it, not changing a thing, totally enraptured by the flowering plants and leaves that had taken root in the vast, dry African land. It was while she was on this roaming painting excursion during a Christmas party in 1942 when she encountered a man named George Adamson. They spoke at length and she learned that he was taking a holiday break from his work as a game warden overseeing the Northern Frontier District north of Mount Kenya. Joy was immediately smittened by this bearded rifle-carrying warden and together with Peter,

her husband, they decided to go on a safari with George. Throughout their time together, George and Joy grew close and began falling in love, creating what George would later refer to as an embarrassing situation. Joy was no stranger to affairs and scandals within her romantic relationships. She was notorious for being unfaithful. And later, when commenting on her relationship patterns, she said that they, her previous lovers, relationships, men, just couldn't keep up with her sexual desires. Okay. Okay. All right, girl. Don't let your boyfriend get in the way of your husband.

As they say. Despite their efforts to stay apart, George and Joy did fall in love. In 1944, Joy divorced Peter and one week later, her and George got married. Oof. What a got punched to the ex-husband. It's like, no, there's no one else, I swear. One week later. Yikes. Her innate curiosity for the wild world flourished alongside George, whose lifestyle she was drawn to like a moth to a flame. His primary job was to protect the habitat that had been set aside as a reserve, but a big portion of his duties was to keep the peace between the locals and the wildlife, which were being pushed closer and closer to people thanks to the development of agricultural land, construction of railroads, just.

Human encroachment into the wild. It's a story we've heard time and time again. And while George was impressed with Joy's ability to hack it in the bush because she was a woman and she was doing things. Wow. They had very different energies. While joy was intense, had a short temper and a baseline level of distressed for everyone that she encountered, George was really laid back. He was quiet, warm and welcoming. And they lived together at a camp in Kenya with various tents for sleeping and eating, just kind of this little compound nestled into the sprawling landscape that was teeming with some of the world's most powerful and awe-inspiring animals, including rhinos, cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, buffalo, hippo, and of course, with lions.

As I mentioned, George's duties were often to deal with conflict, and one day in 1956, he was doing just that. He and his assistant were outtracking a lion that had killed. and consumed one of his co-workers' brothers when he had to make a split-second decision. His assistant had located a large lioness under a rock outcropping and shot at her. She charged the men and George fired. Upon inspecting her body, the men discovered that she was lactating, a clear indication that cubs must be nearby,

and sure enough, tucked deep within the rocks, were three little tiny balls of brown speckled fluff. Scooped them up, brought them back to camp, and tasked Joy with caring for them. God, the way I would be thriving. I would be really. I don't know. It's really sad because they killed the mom. Like if you just happened upon kittens. Like lion cubs. Lion kittens. I would be like, oh my God. Yeah, of course I'll take care of them. But part of me would be really sad. If you're like, hey, I just killed the mom. Here's their babies. I mean, it was out of she was charging at them and she had killed a person. But they shot at her first, right? They did. But they were actively tracking her because she had just killed and eaten somebody.

That's fair. But still, I just feel. I just feel for the mom lion. And I mean, if you're out in the bush and someone brings you three lion cubs, though. What are you going to do, say no? Yeah. You are now a mom. They are yours.

Well, okay, this is actually a really. This is actually a really good spot to just pause. in state, I think, the glaringly obvious. But I feel like we must always make these PSAs just in case. But like, what's about to transpire here is like, we don't endorse. Like, it's just there's going to be a lot. It's not our story. It's not our story. I'm just telling it. And I'm sure I'm going to make some comments like I just did of like, I would thrive. I would love this. I would like this feels like a dream. And I'm allowed to say that and be like, I wish I could cuddle a lion. And also. know that I will never do that because it's wrong. So just like we're just dreaming. We're dreaming. We're dreaming. We're dreamers. Yeah. You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. Have you seen dinner for schmucks? No. Oh my God. Get me a break. There's, well, there's a line in it where what's the guy that

plays in the office, like the main guy? Michael Scott. That's his name in the office. That's his name. God, what is his name? I know his name. Okay. Well, Michael Scott. Let's just go with that because we all know. So he plays this kind of like weird dude. And he says a lot of weird things. And he's like, you may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not. Period. Period.

And it's so funny. This episode is brought to you by Prime. Obsession is in session. And this summer, Prime originals have everything you want. Steamy romances, irresistible love stories, and the book to screen favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting.

Watch only on Prime. Okay, anyway, Joy Now has these three lion cubs, and she's thrilled. She's over the moon, and she names all of them right away. Big one, Lusica and Elsa. But it didn't take long to realize that raising three lion cubs was a massive. undertaking. The couple decided to send two of the cubs to a zoo, but ultimately decided to keep the smallest and gentlest of the three, and that was Elsa. This unlikely addition to the Adamson family was particularly exciting for Joy. She had endured multiple miscarriages in the past

and wasn't able to have children of her own, but she deeply craved the experience of motherhood. So when Elsa joined the family, Joy poured all of the love and care into her that she would have given a human child, and that love translated onto film. They recorded their life with Elsa, hundreds of hours worth of footage of the Adamson's life with this growing lion. Joy would later say in an interview, I was lucky to have some very fine people in my life, but with Elsa, it was a love which was something quite different, and different it was. In the PBS documentary, Elsa's legacy, the born free story, George says, quote, there's no doubt that our shared devotion to Elsa had brought joy and me as close to each other as we had ever been, just like a child might have done.

And Elsa took the place of a child in our family album. And they kept dozens of albums that reveal a world full of scenes parents would normally share with their young human child. But instead of a child, it's a lion. There are photos and videos that show Elsa sleeping in the Adamson's bed, playfully splashing around in the river near their camp and cuddling with joy while balancing in the branches of trees. George and Joy would even take Elsa on vacation with them. They packed up their car and took the growing lioness on a beach vacation and on another occasion brought her with them for a longer safari at Scenic Lake Turkana.

Their relationship with Elsa showed an astounding level of trust and comfort between humans and a lion. This feels like a children's book. It is, okay, well, just you wait. Just you wait. Sure, Elsa had been raised basically since birth by her eccentric human adopt. parents, but she was still an apex predator. If she wanted to, she could turn on George and Joy at any moment and seriously injure or kill them. But looking at the Adamson's photos and videos,

you almost forgot that. Like this footage is incredible to watch. And at first, it's so shocking because it's like, wow, there's a lion with two people, but the more and more you watch it. And like I said, there's so much of it, especially you can easily find it online. It's like the more and more you watch it, the more and more you forget that this is like a killing machine and looks like this like little cuddlebug. And when I say little, I mean, she's not little for long. Well, she's with her family. Yeah. The Adamson's weren't just a couple who decided to have a lion for a pet. They were ahead of their time in terms of their understanding for wildlife conservation. They were worried about lion population decline before lions were even labeled as endangered. As George wrote, quote,

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 short-sighted. The same might have been said of rhinos 10 years ago. Through their work with Elsa and other lions, George and Joy developed a deep and impressive understanding of their body language and non-verbal communication. As joyous as their time with Elsa was, eventually, it became clear that she needed more space and freedom than the Adamson's camp could allow her. She needed to stop being their child and start being a lion. There was only one problem, and that was she never learned how. While other lions

learned how to hunt, Elsa feasted on meat that George brought home for her. While other lions learned to be alert and look around for predators, Elsa lay comfortably on the Adamson's bed tucked under the blankets. And while her peers learned the social dynamics of survival along other lions and predatory humans, Elsa went on daily walks with George and Joy by the river. Wanting the best for the animal that they loved, they knew they needed to let her go. Three years after plucking her from the wild, George and Joy decided to take on the incredibly challenging task of teaching Elsa how to be a lion so that she could return home. They wanted her to connect with her predatory instincts, defend herself, and get back to her

natural instincts that they had nurtured out of her for years. As George himself wrote, began to plan her education for life in the wild, for Joy and I were as one that she could not end up in a zoo. Despite all of my years as a warden and my particular interest in lions, I had no real knowledge of how to set about our task. As far as I could discover, literally no one had attempted such a thing before. Every day, we used to take her out for walks, down the river and up the river. And when we came across a waterbuck, she'd learned to stalk them. And that was one of their strategies, teaching her how to hunt while out on their walks. kind of taught her to hunt with like training wheels almost. It began with George killing animals in front of Elsa and then encouraging her to take possession of them instead of just being hand-fed pieces of meat. One time when Elsa attacked a buffalo and initially wounded it, but didn't fully kill it, George stepped in and shot the animal, helped her finish the kill, and then the staff cut the corpse apart to make it easy for Elsa to eat. And then in other instances, they would kill an animal such as a zebra, tie it to the back of their truck, and drag the carcass in hopes

that it would trigger a natural hunting instinct and prey drive within Elsa. As she progressed, the Adamson's began to leave Elsa alone in the wilderness for stretches of time in hopes that she would take to her freedom, venture off, find a mate, and do what lions do. But it appeared to be emotionally difficult on both sides of the coin. As George wrote, quote, tried to leave Elsa behind, but she followed us back to camp and slept in my tent, behaved very badly, and chewed my pillow. Sat on my bed and broke it. It's really heart-wrenching to leave Elsa in the bush alone. It's like deserting our child.

It seems so shabby to wait until she's asleep and steal away. What makes it doubly difficult is her obvious pleasure at seeing us every time. The same old affection for us, how she is so gentle and no attempt to jump at us. I'm just like... That's really sad. What's the scene in that Disney movie, Todd and Fox and the Hound? Fox and the Hound. Our first trauma.

First cut is the deepest, as they say. Sure is. But it's like they did everything. They tried to leave her. And then sometimes like when she was like they would go out and like be with her. And then when she fell asleep, they would try and sneak away and just like. Oh, that's not. And she would just wake up and be like, where's my family and go back to them?

and, you know, it's hard for them to do. It's like, please just stay. You know, like this is hard. Yeah. And it's hard because it sounds like she's not seeing any other lions either. Well, she does eventually. But like this is the initial, like, gradually trying to scoot her out the door type of thing, but it's painful. It is a little comical, like the scene that you're painting where he's killing animals and she's just like sitting waiting for him to be done.

Yes. Like I'm just picturing her just like sitting. sitting in a field while he's shooting a buffalo or something. And then he's like, licking her paw. Just like waiting for him to be done. And then she just like prances over. Like, thank you. Definitely princess behavior. For sure. She got the princess treatment before any of us knew what that was. That would be me as a lion. Yeah. Suddenly, their extreme success in domesticating Elsa was proving to be an issue. When they did manage to leave her alone on the planes, she ran into various challenges that she was not prepared for.

She got sick and was attacked by other lions. George and Joy were always worried about her. And Elsa herself was walking this line, you know, between two worlds of being trying to be wild, but also, you know, it's like nature versus nurture type of thing. You know, how she was raised versus her true, you know, who she truly is. And also now she's trying to survive on her own. Writing about the difficulty of helping her reintegrate into the wild, George said, I do not think she would have managed it in more open country or without joy and me to provide her with an occasional kill. So it seems like they were, she was like half and half.

You know, she was doing her best, but she also was reliant on what the Adamson's provided for her. And if it was in any other circumstance, like if they just drove her out into a different, completely different area and completely abandoned her and never helped her again, she probably would have died. Elsa started leaving camp for longer and longer periods of time and was getting the hang of hunting and fending for herself. Once, she was gone for six whole weeks. Besides the perils of other lions and diseases, George and Joy knew that they had raised Elsa to trust humans, and that could be very dangerous for her. They feared it would be her death sentence. She was habituated and accustomed to humans providing food and comfort and love, you know, nothing but good things.

But if she approached any other humans out in the world, they might assume that she was approaching to attack them and kill her. The Adamson's hoped fiercely that their beloved Elsa was doing all right out in the vicious and unforgiving real world that they'd only recently opened her eyes to. But then, on Christmas Day, they heard a familiar call coming from the river near their camp. They rushed over to see what was happening, and there was Elsa, standing on the other side of the bank of the river, strong and proud. And what was more, she had three young lion cubs with her. Oh, grandchildren. It was the greatest Christmas gift that the Adamson's could have ever hoped for. In George's words, it was one of the greatest sights of our lives.

Not only had Elsa survived on her own, but she had mated with another lion and successfully had young. George enjoys a risky and unusual experiment had turned out to be a success. And it wasn't just a personal success. Word of Elsa and the Adamson's spread far and wide. Their situation wasn't only unprecedented in the human wildlife world or the conservation space. It pulled on the heartstrings of people around the globe. In 1960, a young David Attenborough visited the Adamson's camp to witness Elsa and the Adamson's in person, but what he witnessed left him feeling a little conflicted. First, the tension between Joy and George was palpable. And secondly, it raised concerns about how Elsa was being treated or how other animals around Elsa were being treated. When Attenborough first arrived, Elsa was off and, you know, kind of doing her out and about type of thing. And the Adamson's were searching for her, calling for her probably to get her drawn in close because, you know, Attenborough was there with cameras and it was a whole thing. And Joy had explained that Elsa had

been fighting with another lioness in apparent battle for territory. And she requested that George shoot the other lion that Elsa was fighting with. Oh. When Elsa turned up a few days later, Joy was relieved, and while laying on the ground with Elsa, cuddling her, cooing her, stroking her face, she barked an order for a goat to be slaughtered and served to Elsa. In an interview with the BBC many years later, Attenborough reflected on that period of time, his experience with the Adamson's at that time.

And he said, quote, there is certainly a contradiction between thinking that one individual animal is so important that you will kill other individual animals to support that animal. And he really reflected on that time of, number one, he commented a lot on how uncomfortable he was being there because Joy and George, he's like, he basically was like, it seemed like they hated each other. And it was like third wheeling a relationship that's not doing well. Yeah. Yeah, in the middle of nowhere and you have nowhere to really turn or like. They're like clearly like bickering and saying words to each other. We've all been there. We've all been in front of a couple that's fighting and you're just like kind of sitting in the corner just being silent.

Like so. So anyway. Yeah. Yeah. So he was really uncomfortable to the point that at certain times he tried to remove himself and waited until they cooled down or separated. So that was the one thing that he commented on. And the other thing, like I kind of alluded to with that, I pulled that quote as from a larger kind of talk he was giving about his experience. But yeah, he was just kind of like, you know, Elsa was extraordinary and what they were doing. I mean, this was like the first time that people at least documented or in a way that other people were aware of had successfully rehabilitated and released wild animals, especially apex predators successfully in this way. Like wildlife rehab was. not, you know, this is a time of like shoot, you do trophy hunting or you just let the wild

be wild. Like there was not really a, yeah, but let's try and help and reintroduce. So that's why he was really drawn there in the first place because it was such a crazy story. And even looking at it now, like wildlife rehabilitation is not coddling and letting them sleep in your bed. You try and emulate what their actual experience would be and get them accustomed to that and not people. So even looking back now is it's still wild that they did it this way. And so he was just like he went there and I think he realized pretty quickly like, okay, and this is great. And maybe you're helping this lion in some ways. But then like you're also trying to, it's kind of like you're bulldozing a path for her. Like you're ordering other animals to be killed and served to her. Any other animal that she has a conflict with that is completely natural. And every other lion is dealing with, you're ordering any other problems for her to be taken care of. Like that's not real. That's not true to nature. And it's survival of the fittest. Yeah.

You know, and if she's not the strongest lion and she dies out there, that is how nature would be. Intended. Right. Yeah. Well, Joy saw things completely differently. Which I get also. Well, yeah. Her relationship with Elsa was absolutely paramount to anyone or anything else in her entire life.

Like Elsa was the end-all be-all for her. And like you said, I mean, she's literally in their family. albums as their child. I mean, it's like, I really hope that after this episode, you take a moment, or, I mean, if you're listening, you personally, Cassie, because I mean, you can't do it right now. But after I tell you this story to just look up some footage on YouTube and it's just like, it's insane. But for everyone else, just pause and take a peek just so you can understand. You can see what joy was experiencing. Yeah. And I think you'll understand why she did what she did. I mean, it's kind of like you're, or at least can see it. I put it in, to put myself in her shoes, I kind of put my dogs, right? Like if I was out in the woods and something was attacking my dogs, you're not like, well, this is nature. I mean, but dogs are domestic. Like, this is a wild animal.

But for her. Yeah, for her. Yeah. It sleeps in her bed and she feeds it and she cuddles with it. It might as well be domestic in her eyes. Yeah. I mean, she bottle raised it. Right.

So it's just like, yeah. Okay, she felt so strongly that this was such an extraordinary relationship that she wrote a book about her and George's story raising Elsa and their efforts to introduce her back into the wild. She wrote the manuscript at a small foldout table in the bush and upon its completion, it was rejected by dozens of publishers, all of which were adamant that the public wouldn't be interested in a story like this. Right, the public hates heartwarming animal stories. Well, just remember, like, again, where things were at at this time. Like, this is not the upbringing we had with watching Mirr-Cat Manor and my octopus teacher and all of these things. Like, what was being shown were these black and white reels and footage of trophy hunters. And just people going out and bagging the biggest animal, I mean.

And glorifying that. And glorifying that, like this big brave hunter and like mastering the beast, not co-agizing. existing with the beast. It was a different time. So that was kind of the attitude at the time. With the exception of some people, of course, David Attenborough was out there. A couple other people were out in that space of like asking different types of questions. But by and large, there wasn't really an appetite for it. But joy remained completely undeterred. And on a bright sunny morning in 1959, she met with Marjorie Villers of the Harville Press. She introduced herself, presented a large dog-eared manuscript and said, I'm Joy Adamson and I have your next bestseller.

Marjorie was impressed by Joy's confidence, but even more so by the book. Reminds me a Tom Brady, the Patriots. He's like, I'm Tom Brady and I'm the best decision you'll ever make. And he was right. Was he right? He was right. And so was Joy. Born free, a lioness of two worlds was more than a story. It was the first time. anyone had written a true story about such an extreme personal relationship with a wild animal and a wild apex predator at that. Because, you know, there are stories like the Jungle Book was published by this time. Like the idea of humans and wild animals coexisting in a peaceful way. I mean, the Jungle Book was clearly a children's story was out there. But it was never a true. There was never a true version of that until this came along. And it couldn't have come at a better time. The 19. 1960s brought about a wave of environmentalism that shifted the human role within the world, that people are a part of nature and not separate from it, nor dominant of it. Additionally, film and TV were starting to shift what they were showing, and nature programming soon took the place of game hunts and trophy expedition footage.

David Attenborough was becoming a household name, and people wanted to learn more about wild animals, not just have their heads on their walls. Needless to say, Joy was right, and her book was a bestseller. Elsa's story captivated readers around the world, and the book, to say was a massive success is a big understatement. In the first year alone, its first year of publication, it sold over 5 million copies and was translated in 24 different languages.

Wow. People were charmed and enthralled reading about Elsa, the lioness's unusual upbringing with the Adamson's and her successful release into the wild again. And it helps that this book was. also published with a lot of photos that showed the reader, you know, a different look. People love a cute baby animal. That and like this young lioness that has grown to be this apex predator that could easily take them out but chose to love them instead, quote unquote, love them instead. You know, like it was just so unique and people were just so captivated by it.

But beyond the thrilling story, there was a thread within those pages that touched something deep. The Adamson's dynamic with Elsa showed a profoundly personal relationship of trust and love between humans and lions. Their story shifted perceptions and pushed the boundaries of what human-animal relationships could look like. But the very next year, in 1961, the relationship that captured the hearts of so many came to a tragic end. Elsa contracted bapsiosis, a tick-borne blood disease similar to malaria, and declined rapidly. Joy was actually away in England at the time and despite George's best efforts, he was unable to save her. As he wrote in his journal, it was a terrible and harrowing sight. At about 4.30 a.m., I called all the men of the camp. Together, we put Elsa on my camp bed and with much difficulty, carried her back to my tent.

As dawn was breaking, she suddenly got up, walked to the front of the tent, and collapsed. I held her head in my lap. A few minutes later, she sat up, gave the most heart-wrenching. and terrible cry and fell over. Elsa was dead. 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 goodwill and love all over the world.

They buried Elsa under a tree at camp and marked her grave with a simple marker bearing her name. She was just five years old. Her death was mourned deeply, especially by joy, although the couple were both hardbroken. The absence of Elsa only deepened the fracture in their relationship, and they began spending more and more time apart. Joy went off on a world tour promoting her book while George remained in Kenya. The book generated millions of dollars almost immediately, and Joy donated most of the money into a charity that she had set up to fund various different conservation projects. The world was split on Joy and what Born Free did for the world. On one hand, it was celebrated, and on the other, it was highly criticized.

Many scientists in the conservation world accused her of anthropomorphizing. Many scientists argued Joy's observations that animals had individuality and their own sense of feelings said that that was untrue, that those observations proved nothing, and mostly because they lacked academic standing because she was not a trained scientist. And here she was saying this view that now I think we all can agree on. And I think the scientific community is on board, at least to an extent, that animals aren't just instincts. Like they do have their own individual personalities. Some are braver than others. Some are more shy and reserved and some are bold and some are more aggressive and some are gentler. Some would be like the class clown and others are serious. These observations and these things that join. and George were noticing and noting not just in Elsa, but in the other animals that they worked with. Like that was new. That was a new way of thinking of animals, especially wild animals. Like wild animals couldn't have personalities. Right. Right. I mean, that's where like the community kind of stood at that time. And here was Joy, this woman who has no formal education on the matter commenting and writing this book that is now selling.

millions of copies and kind of getting this new way of thinking out there and the scientific community is like, well, first of all, no. Have any of these scientific community members lived alongside a lion? Well, that's the thing. But I did. And like, I kind of, this isn't super pertinent to the story, but kind of is. It's just like a little thing that I felt, found was really interesting because here are all the scientific community, by and large, really criticized.

her work and trying to discredit it. And at this very same time, there's a man named Dr. Louis Leakey, and he's a paleoanthropologist, and he's famous for a ton of different things. I mean, Leakey is famous in the scientific world. But most notably, his work formalizing the study of animal behavior is probably among the most famous of his achievements. And he did so in part by sending out what was later known as Leakey's Angels, and they were female field researchers with no prior scientific education, and three in particular were Diane Fosse, who studied gorillas, Baruti Gildicus, who studied orangutans, and Jane Goodall, who studied chimps. The work that these and other women did changed and provided new insights into the field of zoological

science and the understanding of animal behavior. And I won't get too into it, but I just to mention it because it's like, okay, Joy's getting all this crap. But like, meanwhile, parallel to this, a very famous scientist is doing kind of the same thing. And he said a lot of his reasoning to send out these women that into the field to observe all these animals in a way that has never done before. He did it with intention to send out these women with no scientific or formal education in the field was so that they were unbiased, completely like clean slate. I'm literally just going to report what I see. I have no scientific lens in which I'm examining things. I've no, it's like I'm literally just observing them and reporting back. I haven't been taught prior, I haven't been

taught prior things about these animals in particular that I should be looking for. So I just find it really interesting that like he's doing all these things with women that we have grown up learning about and appreciating. And of course, a lot of them went on further. I mean, Jane Goodall went on to. She's still thriving and advocating. Right. And like she went on to receive an education, you know, but when she first first started out, just like Joy, she didn't have that. Also, I just think it's really interesting that he chose women to do it. And of course it's women who discover that animals have feelings. You know, I mean, yeah. It's, I mean, now you look at it. It's obviously living beings with the brains have feelings. feelings. Yeah. But it's just, yeah, I thought you'd like that. I'm like, I got to mention Leakey's Angels. Like, I have to do it. Okay, so this emerging understanding and shift of understanding and viewing animals in a new way propelled born free even further into the spotlight. By 1966, it had gained so much popularity that it was turned into a feature film. Actors flew out to Kenya to film the movie on site, and George served as the chief lion advisor for the film. At first, the producers wanted to use trained

circus lions in the movie, but it became obvious that those lions just weren't acting the way that lions would act outside of captivity, and it was translating into the footage. So George made a very bold suggestion. He said that they should work with lions who didn't have circus training to be able to capture their true nature more accurately and, of course, better portray the true story of Elsa. The producers agreed, and 24 lions were brought to the set. George had to be dialed in in order to keep everyone safe. He had an extraordinary understanding of lion body language and work to relay his knowledge to the actors, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, who were the main stars of the show, and they were married in real life. They were a couple in real life and, of course,

on screen because they were acting as Joy and George. George began, the real life George, began the process of getting Virginia and Bill comfortable with the lions and getting the lions comfortable around them. One of his methods included daily walks with the actors and the lions, just as he and Joy had done with Elsa. While filming, the crew and actors tried to get the lions to react and act normally and naturally. And it's interesting because the actors and lions, while filming this movie, roamed freely, out and about, and the crew and the cameras were locked away in cages. So it's kind of like a reverse. Virginia and Bill took the process extremely seriously and ended up loving the process of working with the lions despite some of the scarier moments. No matter how

well George knew the lions or could predict their behavior, of course, they are still wild animals and they are untrained. One time a lion named boy jumped at Virginia and she fell to the ground and broke her ankle in a separate incident as George reflected on a scene between a lioness named girl and Virginia, who was sometimes referred to as Ginny. He said, quote, towards the end of filming, Ginny had to play a long and loving embrace with the lioness that she knew best, and that was girl. But she sensed something was wrong. She was uneasy herself. The day was cloudy and cool. The scene was set under a tree with its mysterious rustle and swaying. For the only time in her life, girl turned on Ginny, took her by the arm in her teeth and firmly forced her face up on the

ground. Very slowly and quietly, Bill and I had to move in and break up the clinch that was no longer loving. Still, through all the unpredictability, anxiety, and mishaps, the actors were committed to working with untrained lions. Like, they were very adamant that they wanted to do the film as much justice as it could be. So, even though it was a little scary, they committed to doing it. As Virginia McKenna told PBS for their documentary in 2011, quote, almost to the end, there were lots of people who felt it was crazy to do it in this way. and they would have preferred to have done it with more control with circus animals. Although frankly, I would have thought that if they could have seen it with their own eyes, how very differently the behavior of the animals, the expression on their faces,

the whole relationship between us and them, it was all too obvious to see. The way we did it was the way to do it. And we always believed that because we did it in that way, the film survived. There are many, many films made with trained animals which haven't had the same sort of amazing, kind of gut impact on people. And just as Joy was right about the success of her novel, Virginia was right that this translated in a way that no other film had before. And the movie was a massive hit. It won seven awards, including an Oscar. And audiences all over the world rushed to theaters to watch the story of Elsa unfold on the silver screen. For many, the film was not only

sensational but revolutionary. As Virginia later told PBS, the impact of Elsa's life and her relationship with George and Joy Adamson probably changed the way a lot of people think about other creatures. I don't think really before that animals were ever looked at as individual beings. And that sentiment has been widely echoed. And before I go on to the rest of the story, we just have to pause for just a quick sec here to point out something that's, again, I think obvious, but maybe overlooked. because as Virginia just said, she didn't think that anyone before this had ever looked at animals as individuals. And while their work did majorly shift public sentiment towards predatory animals like lions, especially lions, and helped garner this widespread support for the conservation of lions and other species,

I think it's like kind of a given that they definitely weren't the first or only ones to introduce the idea of seeing animals as complex, individual beings with, you know, like nuanced internal worlds and personalities and quirks. Many indigenous communities around the world have longstanding and deep relationships of respect and reciprocity with animal populations and consider their lives as sacred as human lives. So to say that George and Joy Adamson, this white couple that came to Africa, invented this new worldview and being these like quote unquote saviors of lions is not the whole story. And it's how it was portrayed. And of course, they had like this key role and they really did. I mean, we'll get into it. But born free has become so much more than just a movie that was made in the 60s because of Elsa's story. But like, come on. You know, like so I just wanted to. Not the first ones to think of it. Like thousands of years of indigenous history would argue that you're actually pretty late to the game. But glad you got here. Glad you got here. But you're late. Happy you're here. So thrilled. You're.

with us. But yeah. So that being said, you got to give flowers when flowers are due. Within the context of colonialism in Kenya, the Adamson's relationship with lions did help push things forward in a positive direction. As explained in the book, Tropical Nature, Colonial and Post-Colonial Conservation in Africa and Asia, it says, as the colonial era drew to a close in the 1960s, the Adamson's scuttled imperial hunting culture by publicizing a human relationship with wild animals. based on empathy, affection, and non-utilitarian protection. So in that way, the Adamson's work was instrumental in offering a new way of engaging with Lions in Kenya during that period of time. Instead of hunting them, bagging them for trophies, they really showed the value of learning

to care for them and view them in a different way. So long-winded way of saying, yes, you did a good job, yes, you were among the first to widely publicize that, but by no means where you probably the first people to see them in that way. Right. The born free story, both the book and the movie, had taken hold of viewers' imaginations around the world. It was full of scenes of harmony, serendipity, and love. It showed a world in which Joy and George were blissfully in love, taking on the world together in this dreamy way in the African bush, like with this beautiful lying, they defied the odds. But of course, the real story is much more complicated. There was controversy behind this fairy tale portrayed in the book and of course in the movie. In real life, George and Joy's relationship

was far from perfect. The couple fought often and sometimes their fight turned physical. One time during the fight, Joy, and this is awful, Joy went into their bedroom and fired off a revolver to make George think that she had ended her own life. Jesus. Their relationship was fraught and emotionally volatile and as time went on, they grew further and further apart and spent a lot of time living separately. So for a period of time, actually, they still worked together, semi-worked together, but they moved camps, so they weren't living together. But they were still, they never formally got divorced, although they were separated. Beyond their personal relationship, their decision to release Elsa back into the wild was controversial. And of course, this is

reflecting back to before she died, but some were concerned about Elsa's transition from the handheld bubble of safety that the Adamson's created to the harsh reality of life in the wild. As biologist and ecologist Craig Packer, who is known for his work with lions specifically told PBS, he said, the idea of putting a lion back in the wild is actually pretty scary for the lion, because the wild is not a safe or happy place. It's constant gang warfare. If you're one lion against many and you don't know your way around and don't know every inch, and they also know the whole social network, they're going to come looking for you in the dark and be ready to nail you. That's the problem that nobody wants to see the way it really is. The way it really is out here is truly vicious and nasty.

So again, people were just kind of criticizing them at every turn. Kind of like damned if you do, damned if you don't type of thing. Like there was always backlash and that backlash flip-flop depending on who you were talking to. And of course, this is problematic in a lot of different ways. but it's just the way it went down and what they did. Yeah. And of course, like you said, it's problematic. But at the same time, they're getting a lot of criticism for no one who's even tried this. No one else has even tried. Right.

Maybe they're not doing everything perfectly. Maybe there's a lot to learn from this, but who does everything right the first time? You know, they're opening this doorway of possibilities that's never even been considered. Absolutely. Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, the two actors in the Born Free movie, became advocates for the lions who acted in the film. The producers wanted to sell off all of the lions that were used as actors in the movie to recoup some of the production costs. But the couple was horrified by this suggestion and felt it to be the ultimate betrayal. They lobbied hard to have them all released into the wild. Three of the

lions, boy, girl, and Ugass were sent to Georgia's camp to start their rehabilitation process. So they were trying to do, they were attempting to do something similar that they did with Elsa is to reintroduce her rehabilitator, or all three of them, and release them back to the wild. By this point, George had retired as a game warden following the success of Born Free and focused his time on rehab. During the same time, other lion cubs were donated to George and he started developing an ambitious plan to create his own pride of lions that could survive on their own in the wild. That's what I was thinking was happening because I was like, wait, we don't just have one lion now. We have multiple. And he's starting to get others coming in here and there.

Yeah. So not only is he thinking, okay, if I can replicate what I did with Elsa, but now I'm going to want up this and form a pride and get them out there. It's going to have their own territory, going to start breeding. Like, what could that do for lions who, again, at this point, are not endangered, you know, the IUCN wasn't like, yeah, the species endangered, but he saw it coming. He knew what was coming and he knew that lions were going to be in trouble. soon. So that was kind of like his driving factor here. It was difficult at first, but after a few

years, the pride was thriving on its own within Maroo National Park because surprise, surprise. There it is. The area where the Adamson's camp sat was designated as a national park in 1966. If you look up Maroo National Park, you'll find a handful of words of the same flavor, kind of describing the land as untamed, unspoiled, remote, rugged, like this complete wilderness. But the image of a pristine wilderness isn't entirely accurate. As with many of our nation's national parks, the construction of national parks like Maru often involved the force removal of local and indigenous people from those lands. In Maru's case, British settlers in Kenya set aside lands that were initially used as reserves and then many of them were later established as national parks.

And by doing that, it forced those living on the lands off of them to clear the way for those reserves. Located in central India, 220 miles northeast of Nairobi, the equator runs through Maru's 336 square miles of grasslands, plains, and jungle. Tall grasses reach all the way to out into the horizon, and the iconic acacia trees and dense bush speckle the plains. Maroo is known for its vast open landscapes where a variety of animals roam freely. And like I said in the beginning when I was initially describing George and Joy's camp, that's what Maru is. Back to the late 1960s though, and Joy and George were living within Maru, but in separate camps. George was trying to recreate lion prides, but it was a complicated mission because in some cases, their efforts to get lions to behave as they would in the wild was almost. too successful. In 1969, Mark, the three-year-old son of a gay warden in Maroo National Park was sitting

in the back of his dad's car while his dad chatted with George's nephew named Johnny. All the while, boy, the lion, lounged casually on top of Johnny's Range Rover. And everyone was very used to scenes like this. The lions were always casually hanging out with the humans. They would kind of stroll up and around, lay down. They were kind of like part of the chit-chat, one of the crew. But suddenly, something flipped. And no one really knows what happened if there was some sort of trigger or what, but with it seemingly without warning. Boy jumped off at the roof of the range rover and pounced on the three-year-old child. He tore into him as the adult scrambled into action. And Mark, the little boy, did end up being okay. He survived. But the attack had ripple effects.

clear once again and resoundingly loud that lions are not pets. It was widely agreed upon that George and his lions were posing risks to the community and he was given a choice. He either needed to kill Boy the Lion or leave Maru National Park. For George, the choice was clear. He hit the road and took Boy and the other lions in his care with him. Finding a new place to set up camp and continue this specific type of work was not easy. He had developed a controversial reputation with his approach to living with wild lions, especially now that the dangers were on full display. No national park wanted to take him. And as George wrote, I was naive. I didn't realize the heat of the opposition which had boiled up against me at the national parks. Eventually, he and his crew

set up camp at Cora Game Reserve, a remote location that was perfect for his work with very few people around. George and his crew continued on with their mission and had a lot of success in rehabbing lions and releasing them back into the wild. No doubt, George had a deep and nuanced understanding of their behavior, and he and his staff and friends had 30 lions passed through their care over the course of 20 years. But it wasn't without strife and loss. In 1971, one of George's assistants named Stanley was walking just outside of camp when Boy attacked and killed him. Stanley's grueling and devastating death shocked the community and George was forced to kill Boy.

This brought him a huge. amount of pain. Boy was his favorite lion. I mean, he was the same lion that just that attacked that little boy a couple years earlier and refused to kill him. And George felt very similarly towards boy as Joy did towards Elsa when Elsa was alive. After killing boy, admittedly the hardest thing he had ever had to do, George wrote in his journal, Lyon's very quiet. They know something has happened. Boy, my old friend, farewell. George loved boy so dearly that he requested that when he died, he wished to be buried next to him. Meanwhile, Joy was also rehabilitating and releasing animals into the wild, including cheetahs and leopards, but no animal would ever come close to replicating what she had with Elsa. But she wasn't pursuing these

conservation initiatives alone. Like George, she had staff members that worked for her, and the land she did work on was actually stolen. Joy forced an indigenous group called the Samburo people as well as their livestock that grazed there off the land so that she could use it for her conservation and rehabilitation efforts. As George Mon Boit wrote for the Guardian, she described the Semboro as squatters and renamed the prominent features of the land that she had stolen after her pets. Man, we started off liking joy a lot and then throughout the story she just keeps doing stuff that I know it's all in the name of animals, but she's just making kind of

some rough decisions. Yeah, she reminds me, and in this next paragraph, I think it will become clear. She reminds me a lot of Diane Fossie, because when I did Diane Fossies, I did a two-parter on her a couple years ago. Like, we remember her, when you say her name, you know, automatically, you think of all the good things that she did for girls. And that is true. But she was also a racist and she was a really bad person in some ways. And in that way, joy reminds me of that. And just like the complicated relationships you had with people, I mean, when people comment on her and the different documentaries that I watched of this, like, they're always like, Joy was amazing with animals. She had a relationship with animals of every kind that was just like so amazing to watch. She did such good things.

But she was extremely difficult and where she had problems with human relationships. And that was just repeated in different ways over and over again. It's a fancy way of saying we didn't like her, but she did a good job with animals. Right. Yeah. It was now 1980. And Joy remained successful in her work with animals, but again, her human relationships. But again, her relationship with humans, specifically those who worked for her at camp were vastly more complicated. Each evening she would take a walk outside of camp, and one night she did not return. When one of her employees went to search for her, her body was found, slashed and bleeding, alongside the dirt roadside. At first, the media reported that she had been killed by a lion.

However, her autopsy revealed a different story. Joy had been murdered. It later came out that in reality, she was killed by one of her employees, whom she had previously had an argument with over money. She was weeks short of her 70th birthday. During her funeral service, there is footage of George wiping away tears as a priest stands over her flower adorned casket saying, quote, in her books and films and above all in her influence, she will continue to extend upon all people of good who will care what happens to all of God's creatures. But there is way more to the story than is commonly reported.

The man who allegedly killed her is a man named Paul, Niquari Akai. And in countless records of the Adamson's story, his is only just this footnote. He's depicted as a crazed employee who violently murdered the beloved and famed Joy Adamson. But there are many layers to his case. Paul admitted initially to murdering Joy, but his confession painted a much darker picture of her than the public could stomach. Paul said he didn't stab her, but instead shot her after Joy shot at him for disobeying orders. And according to him, pulling a gun in the middle of a conflict was a very regular occurrence for joy. As he told the Guardian in 2004, when she blew her top, she would draw a pistol. Sometimes she shot some of her workers. She would shoot people who annoyed her and then

paid for their treatment. After that, she would pay them to hush up the matter. Wow, that is some anger problems. And again, like Diane Fossey-Tie, like people, her, Her employees said that she was physically abusive towards her employees. He said that the core of the conflict was not a wage dispute. She had asked her workers to collect firewood and carry it back to camp on their shoulders, but he had used her range rover to transport the firewood. And when she found out about that, Joy shot Paul in the leg. In his words, my leg was bleeding badly. I was very angry and shocked that she had shot me. I took my pistol and fired three times at her. I aimed for her chest. I realized that since I had my gun in my hand, if I hesitated, she would finish me off first.

But, and I'm not going to get too too into this because it could be a whole like other story in its own. But there's like another layer to this because Paul later claimed he was tortured and beaten into confessing that he murdered joy. He is steadfast that he did not murder joy and that this crime was pinned on him unjustly. In fact, he said he wasn't even there. In 2005, In 2005, Paul spoke with a reporter from a Kenyan newspaper, and their conversation took place inside the maximum security prison in Nairobi, where he was because he was convicted of the crime. Paul explained that growing up, he actually lived with Joy and had a very positive relationship with her. He does maintain that Joy was a tyrannical employer and would draw a gun on her employees during conflict, and he learned when to stay safely away from her. But he said at the time Joy was murdered, he was actually away.

and out of town, visiting his mother. And while away, he witnessed a raid and went to the police station to report what he had seen. But when he gave them his name, he was immediately arrested and questioned about Joy Adamson. And at the time, he didn't even know that she had died. So he kind of like got caught up in this and it got pinned on him. And he said, I was so shocked that I was unable to eat for two days. I really loved Joy. He also adds that him voluntarily walking into a police station around the time of her murder should have been an obvious sign that he was not involved in the case. And he continued to say, had I been the one that killed Joy, I wouldn't have been that foolish to present myself to the police. And the reporter wrote, Akai feels that he was sacrificed because he was black and poor.

So according to Paul's lawyer, throughout the extensive trial, which included 60 different witnesses, no evidence, no physical evidence ever tied Paul to the crime. And he was a scapegoat for the case. He told the Daily Nation, if there was ever a miscarriage of justice in the history of Kenya's judiciary, it was during a Kai's case. The case was tailored to appease the West because the Kenyan government did not wish to show the world that a world-class conservationist could be killed and it would fail to get those killers. So that's kind of all the information I have on her murder. I mean, there is a lot of, like initially the autopsy showed that she had been staffed. Like, because remember, her body had been found with, like, slashed and bleeding wounds. And that's why initially the person who found the body, her body was like, oh, she was attacked by a lion. Yeah. Like, there wasn't gunshot wounds or bullet wounds. And as far as I can tell, the autopsy also didn't reveal that. So right off the bat, there's like this discrepancy with the confession being like, oh, yeah, I shot her. It's like she wasn't shot. She wasn't shot. Right. So the consensus is that. that this man was framed or kind of just they didn't know what happened.

Do you know if there's anyone else that wanted her dead, like anyone who had motive? The short answer is yes, just because she was so difficult and she did a lot of good, but she also made a lot of enemies. Was she specifically targeted? I don't know. But I can see a world in which people had had enough of her. Yeah. So I think it's- It sounds like. someone did come after her for who she was. Obviously, I can't say that definitively, but that's what it feels like. Right. Well, kind of going back to George, due to their relationship issues, he never received any of the born free money while Joy was alive. However, she left him 8,000 pounds a year in her will. And I did some like conversions and trying to account inflation, like pounds to dollars in 1980 money to 2025 money. And I think, That roughly equates to about 50 grand a year in today's money. Okay.

She granted him in the will. Combined with the pension that he received from being a game warden, his work in Cora continued. The same year that Joy was killed, George's brother Terrence was mauled by a lion. He survived, but after this violent incident, the Kenyan government intervened and refused to allow any new cubs to enter George's rehabilitation program. And that decision was later reversed, but it was, it lasted for you. years. But danger didn't just come from lions. You know, people are getting mauled. The government's kind of like, there's more and more instances that are happening that lions are, you know, being aggressive towards people, especially in your care, like we're concerned. But it wasn't just lions that George needed

to be worried about just across the Tanna River that snake through the Kora Game Reserve. Somali bandits frequently poached wildlife from the reserve and were regularly sending George threats because they wanted the land that his camp was on. In 1989, George's life also came to a violent end. Some of his assistants were on their way to the airport when they were stopped, robbed, and severely beaten by nearby bandits just a short ways from camp. Hearing the conflict unfolding, George got into his land rover with three other men and rushed to defend his friends. When they arrived at the scene, George witnessed some of the Somali bandits sexually assaulting,

one of the women and also beating the crap out of everybody else, and he was infuriated. The other workers in his car urged him to slow down, but George didn't listen. He continued driving at full speed towards the bandits, firing his pistol as he drove. Shots were fired back, and as his car passed the scene, it was riddled with bullets. George lost control of the vehicle, as it careened into the bush, and the shots continued after him. Ultimately, George and two of his assistants were killed that day. George's death was felt deeply by the community. He was like a father figure to a lot of different people. And his nickname is telling Baba Isimba, Swahili for Father of Lions. His murder was front page news around the world. His funeral was held in Cora and was widely televised and dozens of people

flew in from all over all corners of the world to pay their final respects. He was buried next to boy, his beloved lion. And after his funeral, all of the people went back to their day-to-day lives. But the lions that he loved and raised gathered and lingered at his grave for days. They lay on the dusty hot ground, not leaving his side for a long time. Oh, my heart. That same year, following George's death, Cora was established as a national park partially in his memory. George and Joy left behind a varied legacy. deeply complicated characters and their time on earth left an aftertaste of fantasy and controversy, love and violence, myth, and harrowing reality. Their story was a huge catalyst for the popularization of wildlife conservation as a movement. They helped make the case for why wildlife conservation should

matter to a wide variety of people, not just experts in the scientific field. Inspired and completely transformed by their work with the Adamson's, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers went on to to make documentaries about African wildlife. They set up a charity to aid captive wildlife and campaigned hard to close zoos with poor living conditions. Originally called Zoo Check, it transformed into the Born Free Foundation in 1991. Its focus is now broadened and aids species from dolphins to giraffes. Will Travers, their son, who partially operates the foundation, says, Born Free is now a brand. Yes, but it's a brand with values.

Their mission to protect wild animals from exploitation and conserving threat in species and their natural habitats for generations to come is going as strong as ever. And today is a leading champion in wildlife conservation, not just as a charity, but in their campaigning and advocacy work that covers topics from animals in captivity, the dangers of wildlife trade, the fur trade, the fur industry, and all these different various global wildlife recovery efforts. like they have their hands in everything. They also operate one of the largest primate sanctuaries in the United States and continue to raise funds for animals worldwide. Joy was awarded the Austrian Cross of Honor for Sciences and Art in 1977, and her book Born Free, as we discussed, was a massive hit. But it wasn't her only work.

She went on to publish 12 books, created more than 500 paintings and line drawings, including portraits of the indigenous populations commissioned by the government. of Kenya and various botanical illustrations for at least seven different books on East African flora. George also went on to publish books of his own, including several autobiographies, and aside from the Born Free feature film, numerous others have been made of their lives prior to and following their deaths. Their works, mainly joys, raked in millions upon millions of dollars, the majority of which was used to establish four different national parks and reserves in Kenya, including

Maroo, where, if you were to visit today, the descendants of the born-free film lions still roam there today. Joy's ashes were split and spread evenly on the grave of Pippa, the Cheetah, that she went on to raise and rehabilitate, and of course, wrote a book about, and of course, on Elsa's grave. She was finally reunited with her greatest love in life. In death as in life, Joy and George's fiercest loyalties lay with the lions. Under the vast open skies and dusty earth of the Kenyan landscape, their fibers turned to dust, and their bodies became earth under the same patch of sky as Elsa and boy. And for the Adamson's, that was what mattered most in this life.

As Joy once said, sitting there with Elsa close to me, I felt as if I was on the doorstep to paradise. And that is the story of Joy and George Adamson and their beloved lions. Wow. I think that at the beginning of this episode, when you set the bar high, I think you met it. I think you exceeded the bar. That was a really, I've never heard of it before. It was such a cool story. And it was so interesting. Oh, I'm so glad because Born Free, I read Born Free in high school. And I knew like a little bit about them, but not a ton. And of course, I didn't know the National Park tie in or like anything like that, of course. But yeah, I just, I love that story. And I think that anyone who is into wildlife conservation, specifically African wildlife conservation, at least knows Elsa, even subconsciously. Because once you look

up pictures, you're like, I've seen that image before. Oh, oh, that's Elsa. And that's Joy and that's George. And I think knowing the whole story now is just so full circle and I really, really enjoyed researching it. And I have three little bullet points that didn't like exactly fit into the flow of the story, but I would just wanted to mention at the very end. Okay. So first, if this story was ringing some bells in your head, like you don't think you knew Elsa, but have felt like you've seen a scene before of them like playing together or being reunited or something like that, you probably have. And it probably. actually isn't Elsa because there is an entirely different yet very adjacent and intertwined story of Christian the Lion that is just like woven right into this story. So it's a very long and interesting tale of its own. But two friends bought a Lion Cub in London in a department store in the 60s. Oh man. When you could just do that. Buy a Lion Cup. And the two guys, they're young adults. They're like, oh, lion. Yeah, like, great. Let's take you back to our flat in London. And college with an alligator at my school. So, so same same. Yeah. Same same. So they kept this lion. They named him Christian. They raised him. They did the best that they could for him. But of course, they realized we're in way over our heads. We can't do this. But we love this animal and we want the best for it. So they contacted George. And they brought Christian to Maru when he was forming this big pride.

And Christian was successfully integrated into the pride that George started, the one that included Boy, the lion. And he successfully integrated and was released into the wilds of Cora. And years later, the two guys went back, flew back to Cora and met with George and was kind of just checking in on like how things were going and all that. And they were actually filming a documentary about their experience with Christian. like their own thing. People were like, this is also an incredible story about a lion. Like, what is this? So they were filming this documentary. And they weren't sure if they were actually going to see Christian if he was even around or even alive still. And if so, if they would, he would recognize them or anything like that. Because again, this is years later.

And there's this super famous scene of these two young guys in like 70s a tired. I've seen it. I already know what you're talking about. And they're like, they're on this big rock. And this lion comes over the crest of this hill. and kind of is looking at them like, huh, what? And then they say his name and they recognize, Christian recognizes them and just full speeds runs and tackles them and like hugs them, like both of them going from person to person and just like being this big pile of mush and like the cutest thing you've ever seen in your

entire life. It's this giant lion too. It's not a cub anymore. It's just, yeah. Yep. So that. And in the background of that footage, you see this long. white bearded guy with a rifle over his shoulder. And that's George. That's George Adamson. What a fun tie. Because I was thinking of that

exact video I've seen because I've seen it circling on Facebook even. Yeah. Because it's such like the most wholesome thing in the whole world. You're like, what is going on? Yeah. So the book, a lion called Christian, was released about their story and there's documentaries and movies about it. And one of those documentaries was actually released by the Born Free Foundation. and was directed by Bill Travers. Oh, wow. Full circle. Full circle. And I read a line called Christian in, I think, my freshman year of college.

So I read that book, too. The cover got me. Secondly, I think a lot of people are aware of Kevin Richardson, the modern day Lion Whisperer, and he's a conservationist who has spent nearly 30 years of his life living alongside lions in South Africa, kind of like doing the same type of deal. His Instagram is wildly famous. He has a sanctuary there. He has books.

And he's kind of like the modern day Adamson type of figure that a lot of people are aware of. So I just wanted to make mention that I also am aware of him. And lastly, this is not related to the Adamson's. But as if you don't need another book recommendation, because now you have like probably over a dozen after this episode. But this story also really reminded me of one of my favorite books of all time. I actually have it on our book rec list on our website. under like personal favorites. And it's called I Married Adventure.

And it's the story of OSA and Martin Johnson. And it's very, very similar vibes to the Adamson's of like these. I'm pretty sure they were from London. They were definitely from Europe. They went over to the African continent. And they didn't stay in one camp. They kind of bopped all over. But it very similar like documenting what they saw in the wild and making some of the first

nature documentaries, not just hunting trophy stuff and bringing it back and doing it a massive world tour and showing the world what Africa was truly like. And this happened like two decades before the Adamson's. Oh, wow. So it was just like so cool. Yeah. And they did some things to like adopting animals that they shouldn't have adopted and bringing some back to London and doing some questionable shit. But it was a really cool book and it gave very similar vibes to this. So if you're like, oh, I already read Born Free, I know the story and want something similar. Like, that's a really good. You're giving option A, B, and C.

You're like, you've read this, I have this. And if you've read that, I also. Like, oh, Christian, have you heard of it? Yes. Okay. I married Adventure. So, yeah, anyway, that's my story. I know it was really long, but I get kind of carried away with these topics.

You can tell this is your bread and butter. I just love it so much. Give me 17. What is it? I love it. Give me 17 of them right now. You know that guy? No.

What the fuck? What do you mean? You don't know that guy. It's like all this trending audio. You're like, you know that? You've seen it. I'm like, no. Okay.

Well, anyway. Well, thank you everybody for hate. It's this one. Oh, you found it. I found it. I mean, I do think it's right. Spectacular. Give me 14 of them right now.

Really? You never heard. Still have no idea what it is. Okay. Well, then I got to get out of here. I'm embarrassed. All right. Well, thank you, everyone, for hanging out with us this week. We'll see you next time. In the meantime, enjoy the view.

But watch you're back. Bye, everyone. Bye. Thank you for joining us again this week. If you love National Park After Dark and want to hear exclusive bonus stories, join us on Patreon or Apple subscriptions. Patreon subscribers have access to our National Park After Dark Book Club, live streams, Discord, and much more. If you prefer to watch our episodes, video episodes are now available on YouTube. If you're enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite listening platform.

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