Born free

LE KAP

Fighting to be Born Free

Phoro by Martin Harvey

Since 1979, Africa’s elephant population has plummeted from 1,3 million to being less than 400,000 at present. The rampant and illegal poaching of wildlife has also meant that the African lion population has declined and now number less than 25,000.

Virginia Mckenna

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mission, where he told me ‘increased demand for bush meat is taking its toll on many species through poaching, and, lions are affected in a multitude of ways.’ Currently, the lion’s plight throughout Africa is becoming a subject attracting serious concern. Since the late 1970s, Africa’s lion population has declined by more than 50 per cent.

Virginia Mckenna

Conservation is an incredibly complex issue and organisations like the Born Free Foundation are doing their best to raise awareness and gain public support both locally and internationally. Spending time with Will quickly confirms his genuine concern for the wildlife, but he is practical and realistic. ‘One cannot solve these difficult and complex issues alone; you have to solve it together,’ said Will.

‘The indiscriminate and prolific use of wire snares is significantly affecting the lions’ natural prey base, such as antelope and gazelle.

This consequently leads to lions attacking livestock and thereby escalating the conflict. Furthermore, field reports confirm that lions have also been unintentionally trapped, injured, maimed and sometimes killed,’ added Virginia.

Snares come in various sizes and are set in different locations depending on the intended target animals. For example, giraffe snares are strategically strung between trees three meters or so above the ground. An advance Born Free team recently removed more than 150 deadly wire snares in just a week. This obviously means that only a sustained, long-term effort can reduce this risk to lions and all other wildlife within the Park.

Richard Webb

BY RICHARD WEBB

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hould the names Joy and George Adamson not be familiar to you, then maybe Born Free and Elsa the lioness could strike a chord somewhere in your mind. The book, Born Free was Mrs Adamson's simple and moving account of how she raised an abandoned wild lion cub to maturity and then eventually nurtured and trained her sufficiently so that she could return to live freely in the wild. This legacy was created and immortalised in an honest, humorous and heart-wrenching documentary style film.

Northern Kenya’s Meru National Park occupies part of the vast expanse of savannah in the basin of the Tana River on the rather rainy eastern side of Mount Kenya. One of four adjoining parks and reserves, Meru is one of Africa’s key conservation areas. Rugged, wild and often inhospitable, this a beautiful 870 km mix of ochre savannahs, Doum palm trees and the thorny acacia nilotica is dissected by sparkling rivers that help to sustain the wildlife of this extraordinary landscape.

The film Born Free based upon Adamson’s true story of Elsa, starred Virginia McKenna and her late husband, Bill Travers who were very concerned by the growing and increasingly settled human population and the resulting conflict between humans and wildlife in the area. The result of this concern was the creation of the Born Free Foundation, which was established specifically to help keep wildlife in the wild. Virginia, now a spritely 83-year-old, continues to be a resolute motivating energy for the foundation.

Meru is the kingdom of the lion, a kind of ‘Pride Rock’ of Africa, and the spiritual home of the evocative Born Free Foundation – the very place where the Adamson family famously raised and released Elsa the lioness back to the wild. But it’s not only because of Elsa – it’s also home to up to 50 of Kenya’s estimated 2 000 remaining wild lions and is the perfect habitat for many of Africa’s most iconic species.

That same resolve had led to the launch of their latest anti-poaching scheme, ‘Project Lion Rover’ and I was invited by Land Rover South Africa to accompany the Born Free Foundation with Virginia and her son, Will Travers, OBE. I was there to see some of the routines, the sometimes harrowing and always courageous work that is undertaken alongside the Kenya Wildlife Service.

When being there it is not difficult to imagine how the enchanting wilderness was virtually off limits due to out-of-control poaching during the 90s.

Travers, who is Chief Executive Officer of the Born Free Foundation, manages day-to-day operations and is a notably accomplished thought-leader on matters related to conservation. I travelled with him in one of their trusty Land Rover Defender’s on an anti-snaring

The origins of the Land Rover’s association with Born Free date back to 1966, when they featured in the ‘Born Free’ film. The requirement was then as it is now, for vehicles with outstanding capacity and an all-terrain capability that allows them to reach the wildlife in the most remote locations. Aside from the vehicles, the company works with the Born Free Foundation to fund important anti-poaching equipment. GPS tracking units, laptops, binoculars and cameras have

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enhanced the abilities of the local Kenyan Wildlife Services team in their work to protect the wildlife in the area, as well as the development of conflict mitigation strategies with the local people.

‘The Born Free Foundation is on the front line of conservation and wild animal welfare and to get us to that front line we rely on Land Rovers. It is essential not only that we can get into some truly challenging locations but that we can successfully carry out our mission and get out,’ says Travers. Mark Cameron, Land Rover’s Global Brand Experience Director sees their vehicles and the Foundation as an ideal match. ‘We have seen what a difference the Foundation can make, not just for the rescue, care and protection of big cats and many other endangered species, but also in spreading awareness about how people can adapt their lives and attitudes to ensure a sustainable future for man and wildlife alike.’

Virginia Mckenna & Will Travers OBE

Working with local communities, particularly those living on the edges of the park, is vital. Despite the removal of hundreds of snares, wildlife poaching has become even more sophisticated.

‘Many parts of Africa are awash with illegal weapons due to local wars and local insurgencies. They are very easy and cheap to get hold of,’ says Will, ‘KWS and teams like them have a difficult and dangerous job, with their limited resources. We are committed to supporting them and we need to help them fight back with the type of support and technology that will make them even more efficient.’

As important as it is to protect individual animals, it is essential to preserve functioning ecosystems that directly benefit every person on the planet. ‘In working with the Kenya Wildlife Service, we are attempting to halt the illegal and unsustainable commercial bush meat trade. We have been making a serious effort in this area, but it’s a huge challenge. That’s why charities such as Born Free have to assist in whatever way they can.’

LANDROVER ADD