George Adamson, African Lion Rehabilitator, Born (1906)

George Adamson, who became known as “Baba ya Simba,” or Father of Lions, was born on February 3, 1906 (died 1989).  His work reintroducing lions into the wilds of Kenya was immortalized in the book, Born Free, written by his wife, Joy Adamson.  Born Free chronicles the life of Elsa, a lion cub raised by the Adamsons and then later trained to be wild.

George Adamson in Kenya, 1970 (photo by Granville Davies)

Adamson was born in India, of English and Irish parents.  He moved to Kenya as a young man to work on his father’s coffee plantation.  But he was an adventurer, not a farmer.  He took turns as a prospector, road builder, goat trader and professional safari guide.  He eventually took a position as an assistant game warden with the Kenya Game Department—and found his calling.  Soon after, he married Joy, creating the partnership that would make both famous.

In 1953, he was forced to shoot a charging lioness with three cubs.  Two cubs were sent off to zoos, but the Adamsons kept the third, a female they named Elsa.  After raising Elsa as a pet for three years, George began the process of teaching Elsa to hunt and return to an independent life as a wild lion.  The project was successful, and the story of Elsa’s life was told in the book, Born Free, which has sold more than 5 million copies, and again in a feature motion picture and television series of the same name.

Adamson retired from the Kenya Game Department in 1961 to devote himself full-time to raising orphaned lions and returning them to the wild.  Although not a trained scientist, Adamson gained great respect for his intimate knowledge of lion behavior.  He learned that individual lions had personalities and behavior that was unique to each and not just a product of their genetics.  As he wrote, “Like people, they can look impressive, beautiful, curious, ugly or plain.  The best are adventurous, loyal and brave.”

Lions always elicit awe, like these in the Serengeti (photo by Larry Nielsen)

Adamson, too, was adventurous and brave.  With a shaggy main of blond hair and a tanned and rugged complexion, he was the epitome of a real-life Tarzan.  He lived without most conveniences, and always slept in the open.  He loved Kenya for its wildness:  “Promises of solitude, of wild animals in a profusion to delight the heart of Noah, and of the spice of danger, were always honored.”

Adamson’s work, however, was sometimes unsuccessful.  A trained lion, Boy, who appeared in the movie and was then reintroduced into the wild, mauled a child and killed Adamson’s assistant.  Adamson reluctantly shot him.  After Adamson’s brother, Terrence, was mauled by another lion, the Kenya government rescinded his permission to train and release lions.  Eight years later, the government restored his program.

The Adamsons’ lives ended in personal tragedy.  The couple separated in 1977, after 33 years of marriage.  Three years later, Joy Adamson was murdered by one of her staff.  Then, in 1989, George Adamson was also murdered, presumably by Somali poachers.

References:

Father of Lions.  George Adamson:  Lion’s Best Friend.  Available at:  http://www.fatheroflions.org/GeorgeAdamson_Information.html.  Accessed February 2, 2017.

PBS.  2012.  Adamson Timeline.  Available at:  http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/elsas-legacy-the-born-free-story-adamson-timeline/6147/. Accessed February 2, 2017.

Perlez, Jane.  1989.   George Adamson, Lions’ Protector, Is Shot Dead by Bandits in Kenya.  New York Times obituary, August 22, 1989.  Available at:  http://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/22/world/george-adamson-lions-protector-is-shot-dead-by-bandits-in-kenya.html.  Accessed February 2, 2017.

This Month in Conservation

February 1
Afobaka Dam and Operation Gwamba (1964)
February 2
Groundhog Day
February 3
Spencer Fullerton Baird, First U.S. Fish Commissioner, Born (1823)
February 3
George Adamson, African Lion Rehabilitator, Born (1906)
February 4
Congress Overrides President Reagan’s Veto of Clean Water Act (1987)
February 5
National Wildlife Federation Created (1936)
February 6
Colin Murdoch, Inventor of the Tranquilizer Gun, Born (1929)
February 7
Karl August Mobius, Ecology Pioneer, Born (1825)
February 8
President Johnson Addresses Congress about Conservation (1965)
February 8
Lisa Perez Jackson, Environmental Leader, Born (1982)
February 9
U.S. Fish Commission Created (1871)
February 10
Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet, born (1944)
February 11
International Day of Women and Girls in Science
February 12
Judge Boldt Affirms Native American Fishing Rights (1974)
February 13
Thomas Malthus Born (1766)
February 14
Nature’s Faithful Lovers
February 15
Complete Human Genome Published (2001)
February 16
Kyoto Protocol, Controlling Greenhouse-Gas Emissions, Begins (2005)
February 16
Alvaro Ugalde, Father of Costa Rica’s National Parks, Born (1946)
February 17
Sombath Somphone, Laotian Environmentalist, Born (1952)
February 17
R. A. Fischer, Statistician, Born (1890)
February 18
World Pangolin Day
February 18
Julia Butterfly Hill, Tree-Sitter, Born (1974)
February 19
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Established (1962)
February 20
Ansel Adams, Nature Photographer, Born (1902)
February 21
Carolina Parakeet Goes Extinct (1918)
February 22
Nile Day
February 23
Italy’s Largest Inland Oil Spill (2010)
February 24
Joseph Banks, British Botanist, Born (1743)
February 25
First Federal Timber Act Passed (1799)
February 26
Four National Parks Established (1917-1929)
February 27
International Polar Bear Day
February 28
Watson and Crick Discover The Double Helix (1953)
February 29
Nature’s Famous Leapers
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