You can become part of the Born Free Family

You can become part of the Born Free Family

Born Free Foundation’s President Will Travers encourages everyone who truly cares about Kenya, her people and her wildlife to help secure a brighter future for all life on earth.

I first travelled to Kenya as a young boy, aged five, when my mother, Virginia McKenna, and late father, Bill Travers, took their family with them as they embarked on the making of the film Born Free, the compelling true story of Joy and George Adamson and their ultimately successful efforts to return an orphan lion cub, Elsa, to a wild and free life.

That was 1964. I was five – just old enough to appreciate what a great adventure it was and to be ‘bitten’ by the wildlife bug – an incurable illness that makes you fall in love with nature, be amazed by its complexity and beauty – and never want to be cured!

That film changed my mother and father’s lives. They became fascinated by wildlife, inspired by the great George Adamson, and came to know many people in the wildlife sector – Dr Perez Olindo, David and Daphne Sheldrick, Alan Root, Simon Trevor and, latterly, Dr Cynthia Moss, Dr Winnie Kiiru, Raabia Hawa and more.

Of course, our family’s journey started with lions, especially those who starred in the film, three of whom – Boy, Girl and Ugas – were subsequently and successfully returned to the wild in Meru by George Adamson, the father of lions. But it was the death, in 1983, of a little elephant in the London Zoo, originally sent as a gift from the Kenya government of the day in 1969, that turned my parents from concerned individuals into activists.

Will Travers OBE

Our tiny little not-for-profit organisation, Zoo Check, was founded by six of us in March 1984 with a starting fund of just £6 (860KSh). My father then spent the remaining years of his life exploring issues including the impact of zoo captivity on wild animals right up until his untimely death in 1994. Meanwhile, the charity renamed the Born Free Foundation in 1991, began to grow. More and more people were interested in and distressed not only by the plight of captive wild animals in zoos and circuses, but what was happening to wildlife and its natural habitat. The dreadful illegal ivory trade, fuelled by rampant poaching, had decimated Africa’s elephants, so much so that Kenya’s once magnificent elephant population had been reduced to a precarious 16,000 by 1989. Lion numbers were falling, rhinos too.

photos © georgelogan.co.uk

But then the fightback began! Despite the enormous pressures of a human population which has more than doubled in the last 20 years, Kenya now has 35,000 elephants. Its lion numbers went up 25% between 2010 and 2020. Rhino numbers have trebled in the last 30 years. These are all testament to the extraordinary efforts of the Kenya Wildlife Service and its partners, of whom Born Free is proud to be counted as one.

Some people say that ‘it’s not the same’ that ‘everything has changed’. Well, of course, in some respects they are right. There are many more people, many more houses, roads, infrastructure. But many more people now care. In Kenya, the passion with which its citizens campaign for wildlife and wild areas, their resolute opposition to trophy hunting, their defence of their National Parks and Reserves, is inspiring. And Born Free Kenya’s Tim Oloo and his amazing team, is honoured to stand alongside them: building over 350 predator-proof bomas (enclosures) in the Amboseli ecosystem to prevent the killing of livestock at night and to reduce revenge attacks; working with our partners and the local communities in Meru National Park (where the famous Elsa was released into the wild and where she is buried) to safeguard lions and, more recently, elephants and giraffe. Supporting KWS when times get tough to help protect the nation’s natural heritage for current and future generations.

photos © georgelogan.co.uk

photos © georgelogan.co.uk

photos © georgelogan.co.uk

photos © georgelogan.co.uk

It all started with George and Joy Adamson and the famous Elsa. It was kicked into life by the premature and tragic death of Pole Pole; it has blossomed to embrace many species in many countries, employing 150 people worldwide, including in Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

But, perhaps, Kenya remains Born Free’s heartland. It is where our journey started nearly 60 years ago. I hope to be back one day soon, to visit our teams, meet my friends at KWS and other conservationists, work with the community leaders of today to help resolve the challenges they face, and talk with the children who are the leaders of tomorrow.

We all have a role to play, including you, as you read this article, probably aboard a flight operated by our trusted partners at Air Kenya, the pioneer safari airline of East Africa. If you truly care about Kenya, her people and her wildlife, as I do, then I invite you to step forward and become part of the Born Free Family by supporting our work to secure a brighter future for all life on earth.

Thank you