Born Free lions back on the wild side
LIONS are being reborn in the nature reserve which inspired Born Free.
Meru Conservation Area, the setting for the hit 1966 film, was targeted by poachers in the 1980s who decimated its wildlife.
But due to a partnership between the Kenya Wildlife Service and Britain’s Born Free Foundation, about 80 lions now roam free.
The movie, starring Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers, told the true story of game warden George Adamson and his wife Joy who raised an orphaned lioness, Elsa, and returned her to the wild.
Since 2014 the foundation has run a monitoring programme. If they spot anything suspicious in this wildlife haven of 300 square miles they alert the KWS rangers.
Born Free also works to reduce conflict between farmers and lions, arguably the main reason for them being killed. Will Travers, who set up the foundation 36 years ago with his actor parents, said he hopes to extend its work across a much wider area.
From his Sussex HQ, he said: “Our work in Meru National Park is a wonderful example of just how resilient our world can be, and how nature will bounce back if we all work together. “Once poaching was brought under control, wildlife was able to re-establish itself across the many diverse habitats found in this unique area.” Ms McKenna, 88, who revisited Meru last year, said: “We want a world where lions roam free, safe from poachers and human-wildlife conflict. Join us and help ensure a future for wild lions.”
●●To help, go to bornfree.org.uk