It was a roar heard ’round the world.
Fifty years ago, the blockbuster movie Born Free opened in theaters, and audiences fell in love with the tender true story of Elsa, an orphaned lion cub raised, and ultimately released, by a loving couple in the wilderness of Kenya.
The $1 million, 95-minute movie and its romantic theme song touched moviegoers’ hearts and sparked a new movement in wildlife preservation.
Starring real-life spouses, British actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, Columbia Pictures’ Born Free roared through American cinemas in June 1966, winning two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes and a Grammy for best song.
Based on the book of the same name, Born Free tells the story of George and Joy Adamson, a British game warden in East Africa and his Austrian wife, who rescued three orphaned lion cubs in 1956 and dotingly raised them to adulthood. Two of the lions were eventually taken to a zoo, but the couple kept the smallest, Elsa, training her to survive and live among lions in the wild.
After she was set free, Elsa would return to visit the Adamsons, sometimes sleeping with them in their cots as they camped along the Ura River in Meru. She even introduced her first litter of cubs to them. In 1961, suffering from tick fever, Elsa returned a final time to rest her head in George’s lap as she died.
Africans called George “Baba ya Simba” (Father of Lions), and many consider him the founding father of animal conservation. The Born Free story is largely his; drawing heavily from his detailed journals, Joy wrote the 1960 best-seller Born Free, followed by 11 other books. He wrote two, as well.
Although they respected and loved each other, the couple often lived apart. Both dedicated their lives, work and wealth to wildlife preservation.
As films, Born Free, Living Free, the Born Free 1974 television series and documentaries that followed were hardly revolutionary, but their message was.
For the first time, those who viewed Africa as merely a continent to be conquered — or saw wild animals as exotic trophies to hunt — witnessed deep tenderness and affection between wild animals and human beings and fell in love with Kenya’s wild beauty. African safari vacations became popular again, but now the pith-helmet-wearing public went to shoot pictures, not animals.
Many of today’s moviegoers may be too young to remember Born Free, but baby boomers do (or at least they can hum its theme song). Still, Born Freeforever changed the world of animal conservation and inspired many charitable foundations that, a half-century later, remain committed to wildlife preservation.
In celebration of its 50th anniversary, fans are planning Born Free-themed pilgrimages to its film locations and sites in Kenya where Elsa and the Adamsons lived.
Perhaps the most spectacular of these is Elsa’s Kopje, an elegant safari lodge perched high on a rocky hill above the site of George Adamson’s original camp in Meru, where he raised and released orphaned lions long before conservation became fashionable.
There in quiet bungalows, some say that in the distance they can still hear Elsa’s roar.
Follow Elsa’s tracks across Kenya, and visit these special Born Free spots:
Elsa’s Kopje, Meru National Park, Northern Kenya
This elegant environmental-award-winning boutique lodge, sculpted into Mughwango Hill in Meru National Park, comprises six large, en suite cottages, a family cottage, three honeymoon suites and a private house, featuring spacious bedrooms, open sitting rooms, private decks, modern bathrooms and more, all surrounded by spectacular views. Some even have outdoor baths.
Guests at this luxury safari camp enjoy al fresco dining, campfires and an infinity-edge pool with stunning vistas overlooking land where much ofBorn Free was filmed.
Amid 215,000 acres of rugged, unspoiled African grasslands in Meru National Park, where palm trees and baobabs grow amid 13 rivers, stands Elsa’s grave and the site of George’s camp where he lived with the lion stars of Born Free. Meru National Park also offers a rhino sanctuary, along with more diversity of animal species than any other in East Africa.
Elsa’s Kopje has won the Good Safari Guide’s “Best Safari Property in Africa” award and is considered one of Africa’s most romantic lodges. Caretakers Charlie and Philip Mason, a British couple with fascinating Born Free insights, enjoy sharing with guests their stories and photographs of the Adamsons and their lions. elsaskopje.com.
Joy’s Camp, Shaba National Reserve, Northern Kenya
An oasis in the arid landscapes of Samburu, Joy’s Camp is built on the site of Joy Adamson’s tented home in Shaba National Reserve. With 10 luxury safari tents overlooking a large watering hole, there guests may see lions, zebra, herds of buffalo, the rare desert species of Beisa Oryx, reticulated giraffe and Grévy’s zebra.
Born Free fans can enjoy the reception area’s little museum, with photographs, books, movie memorabilia and Joy’s original artwork.
Joy’s Camp is a serene tented camp with modern facilities offering fine dining, a swimming pool and all the comforts of home.elewanacollection.com.
Elsamere Lodge, Elsamere Conservation Centre, Naivasha, Rift Valley, Kenya
Once the Adamsons’ holiday home, Elsamere, as Joy named it, is now a unique lodging and animal conservation educational destination, overlooking Lake Naivasha, belonging to the Elsa Conservation Trust. With 10 double rooms with en suite baths, Elsamere also features a private veranda facing the lake.
Guests enjoy fine meals and traditional high tea and can watch The Joy Adamson Story documentary, visit its museum and learn about the center’s conservation efforts. elsamere.com.
For more information on the wonders of Kenya, visit magicalkenya.org.
Janis Turk is a travel and food writer living in Seguin.
Give ‘Free’
Many charitable foundations were inspired by Born Free, including these nonprofit wildlife conservation and preservation groups:
- The Born Free Foundation, bornfree.org.uk.
- Elsa’s Conservation Trust, Elsamere Lodge, the Elsamere Conservation Centre and the Elsamere Centre for Education in Sustainability in Kenya’s Rift Valley, elsatrust.org and elsamere.com.
- The Born Free USA Primate Sanctuary in Dilley, Texas, a project of the Born Free Foundation’s American arm, bornfreeusa.org.
- The George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust,www.georgeadamson.org.
‘Born Free’ trivia
- The movie’s tear-jerker screenplay was written by blacklisted Hollywood writer Lester Cole (under the pseudonym “Gerald L.C. Copley”).
- Although the movie says differently, Elsa was actually named for the mother of Joy’s second husband.
- George Adamson raised the lions appearing in the film, worked with them on the set and freed them after the movie was finished, although the film studio had wanted to sell them to zoos in order to recoup money spent on film.
- The theme song, written by John Barry, was not heard on the British release of the film, which later won Oscars for best music, original music score and best music-original song.
- The photos of Elsa shown in the movie are the Adamsons’ actual photographs of the real-life Elsa.
- The Born Free Foundation has named 2016 “The Year of the Lion.”
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