into a very handsome lion. Bill described him as the "Jean-Paul Belmondo of the lion world," referring to a French film star of the time. Christian had always been healthy, but one day he was suddenly listless. We thought he might be depressed by Boy's reluctance to fully accept him, but because of the whiteness of his gums and his hot nose, George took his temperature and diagnosed tick fever. Christian had no immunity against this disease, and George, fortunately anticipating it, was able to inject him with the appropriate vaccine. He believed that Elsa had died from tick fever, and that if he had had this vaccine then, he might have saved her. Christian was very sick for two days but quickly recovered.
Now that Christian had been introduced to Boy, Bill and the film crew returned to England to edit the film. George suggested that we should also leave Kora for a short time so that Christian could get used to life without us. We decided to visit other parts of Kenya and Tanzania before returning to say good-bye.
I n Kenya we visited the Maasai Mara, and in Tanzania the Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and Ngorongoro Grater. We saw a variety of animals such as wildebeest, zebra, antelope, herds of elephant, cheetah, leopard, and huge flocks of birds like flamingos, often in spectacular surroundings. We were most impressed by the dramatically beautiful Ngorongoro Grater, and for the first time met some of the elegant Maasai people, who have staunchly defended their right to a traditional lifestyle with their cattle, even more threatened today by the competition for land and resources. It was there that we saw our first lions in the wild: three cubs and two lionesses. While tourism is an important industry and gives employment to many Africans, there was something disturbing about "wild" lions that appeared unconcerned by the Land Rovers that totally encircled them, and the tourists leaning out of the windows taking photographs. One woman in a game reserve who had been driven by a guide to see the unusual sight of a lion guarding his freshly killed buffalo from vultures said, "I've come to see kills, not carcasses. Drive on."
Conditions in the lodges where we stayed varied from nights under canvas to the luxurious. All the lodges were expensive and full of enthusiastic middle-aged tourists, who seemed to feel that the cost of their African holiday was justified if they saw one lion. While these tourists were obviously loving their African experience and expanding their awareness of animals in the wild, we were less easily satisfied, having flown with our own lion to Africa. We had been spoiled by our weeks at Kora, living with several lions, and at a pace at which it was possible to absorb a deep feeling for Africa. Rather than have many animals paraded before us, we preferred to see a few of them unexpectedly, or to sit quietly by the Tana River for hours watching the shy waterbucks, baboons, oryx, and elephants come warily for their evening drink.
We decided to visit Joy Adamson at Elsamere, her house on the shores of Lake Naivasha, a drive of one and a half hours from Nairobi. Prior to relocating to Kora, George had been staying there monitoring Boy's recovery from his injuries and operations.
Joy Adamson was born in Austria and first went to Africa in 1936, where she met her second husband, Peter Bally, a botanist. Joy was a very talented woman with great enthusiasms, often allied to her partners' occupations. She was a very fine botanical artist, and also painted many animals, birds, and a definitive series on the tribes of Kenya, which are in the Nairobi Museum. Joy and George first met in 1942 and had a volatile marriage and relationship up until her death.
After Elsa the lion cub was raised and rehabilitated by them, their lives were devoted to the conservation of animals and returning different species to the wild. Joy wrote Born Free from George's diaries, which was published in 1960 and followed by a film version in
Now that Christian had been introduced to Boy, Bill and the film crew returned to England to edit the film. George suggested that we should also leave Kora for a short time so that Christian could get used to life without us. We decided to visit other parts of Kenya and Tanzania before returning to say good-bye.
I n Kenya we visited the Maasai Mara, and in Tanzania the Serengeti, Lake Manyara, and Ngorongoro Grater. We saw a variety of animals such as wildebeest, zebra, antelope, herds of elephant, cheetah, leopard, and huge flocks of birds like flamingos, often in spectacular surroundings. We were most impressed by the dramatically beautiful Ngorongoro Grater, and for the first time met some of the elegant Maasai people, who have staunchly defended their right to a traditional lifestyle with their cattle, even more threatened today by the competition for land and resources. It was there that we saw our first lions in the wild: three cubs and two lionesses. While tourism is an important industry and gives employment to many Africans, there was something disturbing about "wild" lions that appeared unconcerned by the Land Rovers that totally encircled them, and the tourists leaning out of the windows taking photographs. One woman in a game reserve who had been driven by a guide to see the unusual sight of a lion guarding his freshly killed buffalo from vultures said, "I've come to see kills, not carcasses. Drive on."
Conditions in the lodges where we stayed varied from nights under canvas to the luxurious. All the lodges were expensive and full of enthusiastic middle-aged tourists, who seemed to feel that the cost of their African holiday was justified if they saw one lion. While these tourists were obviously loving their African experience and expanding their awareness of animals in the wild, we were less easily satisfied, having flown with our own lion to Africa. We had been spoiled by our weeks at Kora, living with several lions, and at a pace at which it was possible to absorb a deep feeling for Africa. Rather than have many animals paraded before us, we preferred to see a few of them unexpectedly, or to sit quietly by the Tana River for hours watching the shy waterbucks, baboons, oryx, and elephants come warily for their evening drink.
We decided to visit Joy Adamson at Elsamere, her house on the shores of Lake Naivasha, a drive of one and a half hours from Nairobi. Prior to relocating to Kora, George had been staying there monitoring Boy's recovery from his injuries and operations.
Joy Adamson was born in Austria and first went to Africa in 1936, where she met her second husband, Peter Bally, a botanist. Joy was a very talented woman with great enthusiasms, often allied to her partners' occupations. She was a very fine botanical artist, and also painted many animals, birds, and a definitive series on the tribes of Kenya, which are in the Nairobi Museum. Joy and George first met in 1942 and had a volatile marriage and relationship up until her death.
After Elsa the lion cub was raised and rehabilitated by them, their lives were devoted to the conservation of animals and returning different species to the wild. Joy wrote Born Free from George's diaries, which was published in 1960 and followed by a film version in
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