As a young child, George Adamson, popularly known as the father of lions (baba ya Simba), was passionate about adventure and conservation work.
Adamson was born in India in 1906, but his family moved to Kenya in 1924, where he worked on his father's coffee plantation.
While at the farm, Adamson had his eyes fixed on adventurous activities that led him to work as a game warden under the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in 1938.
Devoted to his role within the service, the father of lions found immense satisfaction with his work, dedicating himself to the noble cause of rescuing vulnerable lions and subsequently releasing them into their natural habitat.
Adamson and his wife, Joy Adamson, are remembered for the movie, Born Free. The movie illustrated the life of Elsa, a lioness that the couple rescued before its unfortunate death.
The movie won two Academy Awards and was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards.
The story of Elsa the Lioness put Meru National Park on the global map as it was raised and buried at the park. KWS has maintained the grace and facilitated easy access to it via a well-developed road network.
In 1961, Adamson retired and relocated to Kora National Park in Tana River County and continued with his lion rehabilitation projects.
He had an amazing relationship with the lions, which no other man has been able to have over the years. Adamson interacted with the 'King of the Jungle' as equals and showed how love could be used to tame ferocious wild animals.
"No one knew the language and lives of lions or loved them more than George Adamson," Christian Science Monitor, an international news organization wrote in one of its publications.
Unfortunately, Adamson was ambushed by Somali bandits on August 20, 1989, in Kora as he headed to the airstrip to pick up his friends.
The wildlife conservationist was buried in Kora National Park, but his name lives on for the impact he made in rescuing vulnerable lions.
"Who will now care for the animals, for they cannot look after themselves? Are there young men and women who are willing to take on this charge? Who will raise their voices, when mine is carried away on the wind, to plead their case?" Adamson wrote in his book, My Pride And Joy.
Besides My Pride and Joy, Adamson authored A Lifetime with Lions, Bwana Game, and Christian the Lion.
