Virginia McKenna & Elsa (stand-in)

Elsa the Lioness (c. January 1956-January 24, 1961) was a female lion raised by game warden George Adamson and his wife Joy Adamson (1910-1980) in Kenya. Elsa and her two sisters, 'Big One' and Lustica, first came under the care of the Adamsons when only a few weeks old. They had become orphaned when George was reluctantly forced to kill their mother during one of his safaris. Her two sisters were eventually sent to the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands, while Elsa herself remained with the Adamsons. www. ... www. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 24 is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) Comparative view of the human and lion frames, c1860. ... George Adamson (1906- 20 August 1989) George Adamson, the Lion Man of Africa was one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation. ... Joy Adamson (January 20, 1910 – January 3, 1980) was a naturalist, best known as the author and main character of the book, Born Free, which described her experiences in saving the life of a lioness, Elsa. ... -1... 1980 (MCMLXXX in Roman) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

While Elsa lived in many ways like a domesticated pet when she was small, Joy Adamson, whom Elsa trusted the most, considered her relationship with Elsa to be that of equals. Indeed, Joy was fiercely determined to giving Elsa the education she needed to hunt and live in the wild. Her efforts paid off, earning Elsa world-wide fame at the time, when her life's story, up to this point, was published in the book, Born Free. When Elsa was three, she brought three cubs of her own to show to the Adamsons, whom the Adamsons named "Jespah" (male), "Gopa" (male), and "Little Elsa" (female). The life of Elsa and her cubs are covered in the book, Living Free, published not long afterwards. Joy Adamson (January 20, 1910 – January 3, 1980) was a naturalist, best known as the author and main character of the book, Born Free, which described her experiences in saving the life of a lioness, Elsa. ... Born Free is a book written by Joy Adamson in the 1960s about an orphaned Kenya. ...

Elsa's life was tragically cut short, however, when she succumbed to babesiosis, a blood disease somewhat similar in character to malaria but rarely found to infect members of the cat family (Panthera) at the time. Her death occurred as local sentiment began to turn against Elsa and her cubs, forcing the Adamsons to consider relocation for the cubs. Elsa's death made her cubs much more adverse to human contact, even with the Adamsons themselves, complicating what would be their capture and ultimate release in the Serengeti. The fate of the cubs upon their release was uncertain, though George Adamson was able to find Little Elsa alive, healthy, and in the company of two other unrelated lions during 19 months of subsequent searching ^[1]. Though this was the last that the Adamsons would ever see of Elsa's cubs, they hoped that Elsa's descendents continue to live on in the Serengeti. Babesiosis is a parasitic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia, which belongs to the phylum Apicomplexa. ... Red blood cell infected with Malaria, derived from mala aria (Italian for bad air) and formerly called ague or marsh fever in English, is an infectious disease which causes about 350-500 million infections with humans and approximately 1. ... Species Panthera leo Panthera tigris Panthera pardus Panthera onca Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae (the cats), which contains four well-known species: the tiger, lion, leopard, and jaguar. ... Serengeti is a region of grasslands and woodlands in Africa shared between the countries of Tanzania in the south and Kenya in the north. ... Serengeti is a region of grasslands and woodlands in Africa shared between the countries of Tanzania in the south and Kenya in the north. ...

Elsa's life was depicted in Joy Adamson's books Born Free and Living Free, both of which were made into movies. Elsa's illness and death, along with the subsequent capture and release of her cubs, were described in Forever Free, also by Joy Adamson. Elsa's life, from George Adamson's perspective, was described in his book, A Lifetime with Lions. Born Free is a book written by Joy Adamson in the 1960s about an orphaned Kenya. ... George Adamson (1906- 20 August 1989) George Adamson, the Lion Man of Africa was one of the founding fathers of wildlife conservation. ...

Elsa going for a ride

Image File history File linksMetadata ElsaOnJeep. ... Image File history File linksMetadata ElsaOnJeep. ...

Notes

• ^  Adamson, George. A Lifetime With Lions. New York: Avon Books, 1968.

External links

• Website about Elsa: [2]
• For a great collection of photos of Elsa from the same website see: [3]