THE LAST LIONS OF MERU?
Poachers may have ravaged Meru’s wildlife – but now Born Free is working tirelessly to protect the park’s lions
BACK IN THE 1960s, Elsa may well have been the most famous lion cub alive. She was hand-reared and successfully released back into the wild by conservationists Joy and George Admandson. And her story, which was told in the incredible book and film Born
Free, helped to inspire thousands of people to get involved in wildlife conservation.
Elsa’s home was Meru National Park in Kenya – a wildlife haven that was home to lions, elephants, cheetahs, zebras, oryx and much more. However, just a few decades later, Meru was overrun with poachers. Its wildlife was decimated and the park tragically lost 90 per cent of its elephant population and all of its rhino.
But now Meru is fighting back. With a diverse ecosystem, reliable water sources and plenty of prey, it’s now a stronghold for lion conservation. There are around 60-80 lions living within the national park today, along with a whole host of other animals including leopards, cheetahs, hyenas and giraffes, plus elephants and rhinos that have been re-introduced. It’s an incredible achievement – and it’s thanks, in part, to the fantastic work of the international wildlife charity, Born Free.
PROTECTING ELSA’S LEGACY
Actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers starred as Joy and George Adamson in the 1966 film BornFree. Not only was it a success at the box office, but it was also a life-changing experience for both of them. Inspired by Elsa’s story, they founded Born Free, and since 2014, the charity has been working closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service to bring Meru back to its former glory.
The Pride of Meru project, for example, aims to preserve the park’s lion population by protecting, monitoring and surveying individual lions and their prides, as well as other wildlife populations. Over the past three years, the charity’s field team has tracked five prides of lions in Meru, monitoring their behaviours, movement patterns and pride structure, as well as any threats to their survival.
On top of this, Born Free has also worked closely with local communities and schools bordering the park, to educate, encourage peaceful co-existence and show the importance of wildlife conservation.
Born Free’s work is far from over though. To provide a future for wild lions, the charity wants to continue its vital work, expand its efforts into new areas, reduce threats to lions and their habitats, and promote more sustainable livelihoods for local communities. The lions living in Meru National Park today are Elsa’s legacy, and their survival depends on charities like Born Free. With your generous support, the charity can safeguard these magnificent animals for future generations.