0:00:17 > 0:00:23In 1956, George Adamson, a game warden in northern Kenya,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26was sent to track down a man-eating lion
0:00:26 > 0:00:29that had been terrorising several villages.
0:00:29 > 0:00:33While looking for the lion, he startled a lioness...
0:00:35 > 0:00:38..and when she charged, George shot her dead.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53Afterwards, he saw the lioness was with milk,
0:00:53 > 0:00:59discovered three cubs nearby and chose to rescue them.
0:00:59 > 0:01:04George brought the cubs back to camp for his wife, Joy Adamson.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11This spur of the moment decision would make one of the cubs a legend
0:01:11 > 0:01:14and led to the feature film Born Free.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Oh, you've been very successful, haven't you?
0:01:17 > 0:01:18Joy, can you spare a minute?
0:01:18 > 0:01:20Yes, I suppose so. What is it?
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Well, I've a little something for you.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Ohhh!
0:01:29 > 0:01:34Joy fell in love with the cubs and wanted to raise them by hand.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38However, as they grew, they became harder to handle and more dangerous.
0:01:41 > 0:01:45Eventually the Adamsons agreed to let two go to a zoo in Europe,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49but decided to keep the weakest, the one they named Elsa.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54The unique bond Elsa and the Adamsons achieved
0:01:54 > 0:01:57would radically alter the way that we relate to lions forever.
0:01:59 > 0:02:02It was like a pebble landing in a pool that set off a series
0:02:02 > 0:02:06of dramatic, unpredictable and sometimes tragic events
0:02:06 > 0:02:08that still resonate with us today.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24In the 21st century, the fate of the most feared animal in Africa
0:02:24 > 0:02:26hangs in the balance.
0:02:27 > 0:02:33Experts estimate that there are now just 10% of the lions that existed
0:02:33 > 0:02:36when Born Free was released in 1966.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46The film raised the possibility of having an emotional connection
0:02:46 > 0:02:50with a wild predator, previously only thought of as a killer.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55The initial amazement is that shot
0:02:55 > 0:03:03in which Joy Adamson puts her arms around the lioness' neck
0:03:03 > 0:03:07and the lioness certainly doesn't act aggressively.
0:03:07 > 0:03:08What caught the imagination
0:03:08 > 0:03:12was the successful release of Elsa back into the wild.
0:03:12 > 0:03:17More than a film or a book, Born Free became a fable
0:03:17 > 0:03:20of the return to nature and aroused our passion to fight
0:03:20 > 0:03:23for the freedom that all animals should have in the natural world.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25You have this fixed idea.
0:03:25 > 0:03:27What's wrong with a zoo anyway?
0:03:27 > 0:03:29Nothing... except that she won't be free.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33- And is freedom so important?- Yes.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Yes. She was born free and she has the right to live free.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46- Virginia McKenna's life was changed forever by playing Joy Adamson in the film.
0:03:46 > 0:03:53It's so wonderful that this story is still alive.
0:03:53 > 0:03:58It's like a beacon of hope in a rather sad and violent world.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05Both Joy and George would ultimately meet brutal and savage ends.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10But in the '50s, the Africa that led them into the Born Free story
0:04:10 > 0:04:13was one of romance and adventure.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16The bush was still true wilderness
0:04:16 > 0:04:19and they were drawn towards the freedom it offered.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24As a game warden, George looked after an area the size of Britain.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28There were wild animals everywhere and barely a human in sight.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36George and Joy filmed their encounters
0:04:36 > 0:04:38with lions and other animals.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42All the home movie footage of Elsa in this film was shot by them.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48The Adamsons also kept a written record of their lives.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Most people know the Born Free story
0:04:51 > 0:04:54through the film based on Joy's book.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00But the other star was George, perhaps the real hero.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04He dedicated his whole working life to protecting lions
0:05:04 > 0:05:06in a time when they were still considered vermin
0:05:06 > 0:05:10and foresaw many of the problems we face today.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13In the 1980s he wrote...
0:05:13 > 0:05:18"Quite often our work is called a waste of time and resources,
0:05:18 > 0:05:21"as lions are not endangered as a species.
0:05:21 > 0:05:26"This is true at the moment, but as a yardstick for action,
0:05:26 > 0:05:27"is dangerously short-sighted.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31"The same might have been said of rhinos ten years ago."
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Using the words of his diaries and books,
0:05:34 > 0:05:38we are now able to get inside the head of a thoughtful man
0:05:38 > 0:05:41who inspired all who came into contact with him.
0:05:44 > 0:05:49George was one of the very first people who understood lion behaviour.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51Read the signs.
0:05:51 > 0:05:55That's what he taught us, read the body language.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59That's what George told us, taught us, not by saying
0:05:59 > 0:06:04anything but by his example because he wasn't like a schoolteacher.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07He was just a wise and wonderful person
0:06:07 > 0:06:10who by his example showed you the way.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15When George and Joy decided to raise Elsa,
0:06:15 > 0:06:20it's hard to appreciate how unique an experiment it was.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23No-one had ever raised a lion out in the bush before
0:06:23 > 0:06:27and it was impossible to tell what would happen.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31At first, Elsa was distraught that she had lost her siblings.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36"It was pathetic to see her searching for her sisters,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40"and while she got over the loss of them, we let her sleep on our bed."
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Joy's affection for Elsa was immense from the outset.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52She had suffered three miscarriages, was unable to conceive again
0:06:52 > 0:06:56and had a deep, unfulfilled longing for children.
0:06:56 > 0:06:59So Elsa became part of the family.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03"There is no doubt that our shared devotion to Elsa
0:07:03 > 0:07:08"had brought Joy and me as close to each other as we'd ever been,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10"just as a child might have done...
0:07:10 > 0:07:14"and Elsa took the place of a child in our family album."
0:07:16 > 0:07:19Her emotion was huge, enormous.
0:07:19 > 0:07:24I felt deeply sorry for her actually because she cared so much about that animal.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28It was like as if Elsa was her child, absolutely.
0:07:28 > 0:07:33She poured every ounce of love that you would give to a child into Elsa.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38I was lucky to have some very fine people in my life
0:07:38 > 0:07:42including what I thought human love means.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46But with Elsa it was a love which was something quite different.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49Elsa's natural instinct was playful.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53Lion cubs learn by rough and tumble in the wild.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55But it soon became clear,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58as Elsa grew and gained strength, that in spite of the Adamsons'
0:07:58 > 0:08:02special bond with her, she would need to roam further than their camp
0:08:02 > 0:08:05to fulfil her potential as a lioness in her natural environment.
0:08:08 > 0:08:12"We began to plan her education for life in the wild,
0:08:12 > 0:08:16"for Joy and I were as one that she should not end up in a zoo.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19"Despite all of my years as a warden
0:08:19 > 0:08:22"and my particular interest in lions,
0:08:22 > 0:08:27"I had no real knowledge how to set about our self-appointed task.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29"As far as I could discover,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33"literally no-one had attempted such a thing before.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38"Everyday we used to take her out for walks,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41"down the river and up the river.
0:08:41 > 0:08:46"And when we came across waterbuck, she'd learn to stalk them."
0:08:54 > 0:08:57George got to know Elsa intimately
0:08:57 > 0:09:01as he reawakened her natural instincts.
0:09:01 > 0:09:03But in spite of Elsa learning to hunt,
0:09:03 > 0:09:07he quickly saw she had an especially gentle and loving character.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12George began to realise that every animal is unique,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15an idea that was novel at the time.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Westerners saw lions as part of a sport -
0:09:20 > 0:09:23trophies to be shot for fun.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Local tribesmen killed them out of necessity,
0:09:29 > 0:09:32but nobody related to them as individuals.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44The strong bond that Elsa had with the Adamsons
0:09:44 > 0:09:47gave George a problem when he tried to release her back into the wild.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54She wasn't yet ready for the dangers that lay in wait.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59She became ill, got hungry and was attacked by wild lions.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02That made her attach herself even more to the Adamsons.
0:10:08 > 0:10:14"Tried to leave Elsa behind, but she followed us back to camp and slept in my tent.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17"Behaved very badly and chewed my pillow.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21"Sat on my bed and broke it!
0:10:21 > 0:10:25"It's really heart-rending to leave Elsa in the bush alone.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27"Like deserting our child.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32"It seems so shabby to wait until she's asleep and steal away.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34"What makes it doubly difficult
0:10:34 > 0:10:38"is her obvious pleasure at seeing us every time.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40"The same old affection for us.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45"How she is so gentle and no attempt to jump at us."
0:10:47 > 0:10:49Gradually she did learn to fend for herself,
0:10:49 > 0:10:54to hunt and to cope with the dangers of the big wide world.
0:11:00 > 0:11:04"Probably Elsa's most remarkable step forward at this time
0:11:04 > 0:11:07"was in exercising extraordinary self-control.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12"She somehow learned to reconcile the reactions of being a wild lioness
0:11:12 > 0:11:19"with those of a young lion who had imprinted, almost at birth, on her human foster parents."
0:11:23 > 0:11:27This, to my mind, is one of the most remarkable photographs
0:11:27 > 0:11:29that's ever been taken of a lion.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31It shows Elsa,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34the famous lioness that was reared by Joy and George Adamson.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39She had just killed this buffalo, killed it for herself.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43And yet at this moment, when all her most powerful instincts of savagery,
0:11:43 > 0:11:45the instincts of a hunter, were aroused,
0:11:45 > 0:11:51she allowed these two men to drag her prey, her kill, from her
0:11:51 > 0:11:54and yet do nothing whatever to prevent them.
0:11:54 > 0:11:57She thus proved that she was a lioness of two worlds,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01a lioness who could live in the world of the wild savage bush
0:12:01 > 0:12:03and also in the world of human beings.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14Elsa walked the tightrope between a wild and domestic life,
0:12:14 > 0:12:17a constant worry for her surrogate parents.
0:12:19 > 0:12:24Worst of all was when she disappeared for a full six weeks.
0:12:24 > 0:12:28As Elsa was used to humans providing food, she could have easily walked
0:12:28 > 0:12:33into trouble with local tribesmen, or hunters who would have killed her instantly.
0:12:42 > 0:12:48Then, on Christmas Day, Joy and George received the best present they could ever have dreamt of.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58"She called from the river in an unusual way
0:12:58 > 0:13:03"and stood near the bank with three cubs at her side.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07"It was one of the greatest sights of our lives."
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Being the first hand-reared lion to breed successfully in the wild,
0:13:18 > 0:13:20Elsa had made history.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27Joy celebrated their successful rearing of an orphan lion
0:13:27 > 0:13:29by writing the book, Born Free.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32There was great anticipation on its release
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and it was an immediate international smash hit,
0:13:35 > 0:13:38being translated into 25 different languages
0:13:38 > 0:13:41and selling six millions copies in its first year.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49I got a telegram saying,
0:13:49 > 0:13:53there is a new book coming out about a lioness, we have permission
0:13:53 > 0:13:56to go and film it, will you go up there and do so, which I duly did.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59When we arrived,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Joy would say, "Oh, I am in trouble, so, so much trouble, trouble.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08"Elsa has been in a fight with a strange lioness.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12"And she is injured and she's somewhere in the wilderness...
0:14:12 > 0:14:15"We have..." So I thought oh, I have no star,
0:14:15 > 0:14:17I mean, what is this thing about?
0:14:17 > 0:14:22So I got out a camp bed and I went to sleep.
0:14:22 > 0:14:29And I woke with a huge weight on my, on my chest and the most appalling
0:14:29 > 0:14:33halitosis coming at me and I opened my eyes and there were these snaggled
0:14:33 > 0:14:40saliva of the underside of a lion's jaw, and its weight on me.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45So I realised that a lion is lying on top of me, what do I do now?
0:14:47 > 0:14:53And before I could make up my mind to do anything in particular,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56I heard Joy saying "Elsa, my liebchen"
0:14:56 > 0:15:02and this huge great thing uncurls and plodded over and she saw Joy,
0:15:02 > 0:15:05which was a great relief as far as I was concerned.
0:15:05 > 0:15:07But that was my introduction to Elsa.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12She certainly was injured.
0:15:12 > 0:15:17And Joy treated her wounds and stroking her
0:15:17 > 0:15:18and feeling very tender.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23And that evening Joy said, "George,
0:15:23 > 0:15:30"you must go and shoot this lioness who is injuring my Elsa".
0:15:30 > 0:15:34And George said, cos he always had a pipe in his mouth,
0:15:34 > 0:15:37never wore a shirt, I never saw him in a shirt.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39And George said, "Grr mmm grr"
0:15:39 > 0:15:46and Joy then lost her temper and said, "You're so, so idle, George,
0:15:46 > 0:15:51"you must go and shoot this animal who is injuring my Elsa".
0:15:51 > 0:15:54And then it became a really,
0:15:54 > 0:15:58an embarrassing argument, I mean, you know, we'd only just arrived
0:15:58 > 0:16:01and here was husband and wife rowing
0:16:01 > 0:16:06in the most violent way and, er, and I was so embarrassed I got up
0:16:06 > 0:16:10and left the tent and went out and looked at the African moon.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13And Joy came running afterwards and said "Oh, please David, I know you
0:16:13 > 0:16:17"think it's so terrible I'm talking to George in that way but he is so,
0:16:17 > 0:16:24he is so idle and I love Elsa more than I love any man", she said.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Oh, well. Mmm.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32The blissful relationship portrayed in the book was far from the truth.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35Joy and George were in fact at loggerheads
0:16:35 > 0:16:39and would spend most of the rest of their lives apart.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43"She had what you might call an artistic temperament.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46"She was not at all easy to get along with.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49"We used to have some terrible rows.
0:16:49 > 0:16:55"Joy very difficult, created scene while I was having lunch.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57"She left the table and went to her room.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00"A minute later I heard a shot!
0:17:00 > 0:17:04"She had fired off her revolver to frighten me into thinking
0:17:04 > 0:17:07"she had committed suicide."
0:17:07 > 0:17:09Clearly there was more going on
0:17:09 > 0:17:13than the fairy tale portrayed by the Born Free book.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15And not only with the Adamsons.
0:17:16 > 0:17:20Elsa's rehabilitation back into the wild was more dangerous
0:17:20 > 0:17:23than the book implied.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The Kenyan bush is a violent and unforgiving place
0:17:26 > 0:17:30where wild prides will always fight off a lone lioness.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36The truth was that it was a minor miracle that Elsa survived at all.
0:17:41 > 0:17:44"I always regretted not keeping Elsa's sisters.
0:17:44 > 0:17:49"It had made her rehabilitation far more difficult.
0:17:49 > 0:17:54"I do not think she would have managed it in more open country,
0:17:54 > 0:17:58"or without Joy and me to provide her with an occasional kill."
0:18:01 > 0:18:06The idea of putting a lion back in the wild is actually pretty scary for the lion
0:18:06 > 0:18:10because the wild is not a safe, happy place -
0:18:10 > 0:18:12it's constant gang warfare.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16And if you're one lion against many and you don't know your way around
0:18:16 > 0:18:20and they know every inch, and they also know the whole social network.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23And there's somebody new here, what is that?
0:18:23 > 0:18:29And they're going to come looking for you in the dark and be ready to nail you.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35That's the problem. Nobody wants to see the way it really is,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38the way it really is out here is truly vicious and nasty.
0:18:44 > 0:18:48Born Free is a deep, deep myth,
0:18:48 > 0:18:52and it is a lovely encouraging myth that we are at one with nature
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and that nothing awful ever happens.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Death and destruction and pain and agony is not part of that myth.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02It happens to be part of the natural world.
0:19:03 > 0:19:08And it was the relentless force of nature that struck Elsa down.
0:19:10 > 0:19:13But it wasn't another lion that got the better of her.
0:19:13 > 0:19:18She caught a tick fever whilst Joy was heading back from London.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21George kept notes of exactly what happened.
0:19:21 > 0:19:27He knew Joy's heart would be broken if Elsa didn't make it through.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31"It was a terrible and harrowing sight.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35"It even crossed my mind that I ought to put her out of her misery,
0:19:35 > 0:19:41"but I believed there was still a chance that you might arrive with a vet in time to help."
0:19:44 > 0:19:50"At about 4.30am, I called all the men of the camp.
0:19:50 > 0:19:53"Together, we put Elsa on my camp bed
0:19:53 > 0:19:58"and with much difficulty carried her back to my tent.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01"As dawn was breaking,
0:20:01 > 0:20:06"she suddenly got up, walked to the front of the tent and collapsed.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09"I held her head in my lap.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12"A few minutes later she sat up,
0:20:12 > 0:20:19gave a most heartrending and terrible cry and fell over."
0:20:19 > 0:20:22"Elsa was dead.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24"My Elsa gone!
0:20:24 > 0:20:25"Gone the most wonderful friend
0:20:25 > 0:20:29"and part of my life which nothing can replace.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32"Why should it be?
0:20:32 > 0:20:37"Something which has created nothing but goodwill and love all over the world."
0:20:42 > 0:20:46"I buried Elsa under the target tree
0:20:46 > 0:20:50"and got the scouts to fire three volleys over the grave."
0:20:58 > 0:21:02The impact of Elsa's life and her death
0:21:02 > 0:21:05and her relationship with George and Joy Adamson
0:21:05 > 0:21:09has had an impact beyond description really
0:21:09 > 0:21:15because I don't think really before that animals were ever looked at as individual beings.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19They were just lions or elephants or monkeys or whatever.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24But through the Adamsons' life with her,
0:21:24 > 0:21:32the whole understanding of human beings to individual animals began.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36It was as if there wasn't any separation, that's what I like
0:21:36 > 0:21:41about, you know we say animals and humans, because we are all
0:21:41 > 0:21:43in the same basket, we really are.
0:21:43 > 0:21:48And we don't take enough time to understand what they do,
0:21:48 > 0:21:51we're so busy thinking of ourselves and what we do.
0:21:51 > 0:21:56So Elsa and the Adamsons kind of started this off, I think,
0:21:56 > 0:22:00and probably changed the way a lot of people think about other creatures,
0:22:00 > 0:22:02I think, I'm sure they did.
0:22:10 > 0:22:16Elsa continued to provide fresh new insights into the world of lions from beyond the grave.
0:22:16 > 0:22:21She gained immortality through the feature film Born Free.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26Virginia McKenna was cast as Joy, her husband Bill Travers played George
0:22:26 > 0:22:29and George himself was the chief lion advisor.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35What went on behind the scenes perhaps reveals more
0:22:35 > 0:22:38about the nature of lions than the film itself.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43At first, the producers wanted to use captive circus lions to star as Elsa.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48However well trained, they were still huge beasts
0:22:48 > 0:22:52that instinctively sensed fear in humans.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55I must admit, when I first saw them,
0:22:55 > 0:23:00my heart did skip a few beats because they were so huge.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02It was quite daunting,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05and I had a nice cup of tea when I came out.
0:23:05 > 0:23:12The trouble was we could only do what the trainer said we could do.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16So we never could just do what we felt.
0:23:16 > 0:23:17The filming didn't go well.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Despite George's best efforts,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22the lions became more aggressive with the actors.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26There was something inherently wrong about captive animals
0:23:26 > 0:23:29working on a film called Born Free.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34George advised that they get a whole new group of lions
0:23:34 > 0:23:38from around the world that hadn't had a rigid circus training
0:23:38 > 0:23:41and would hopefully behave more naturally.
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Eventually, 24 new lions arrived,
0:23:45 > 0:23:50including three that would go on to play huge roles not only in the film
0:23:50 > 0:23:52but also George's life.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56Boy, Ugas and Girl.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01George advised Virginia and Bill to walk with the lions every morning
0:24:01 > 0:24:04for months to gain their trust.
0:24:04 > 0:24:07They started to film in a completely new way
0:24:07 > 0:24:11by encouraging the lions to behave naturally, not by commanding them.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15It required great patience
0:24:15 > 0:24:18and often George was just outside the edge of shot
0:24:18 > 0:24:20encouraging a lion to act in a particular way.
0:24:20 > 0:24:25Come on Elsa, get down!
0:24:30 > 0:24:33But the danger of being close to lions was always apparent.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38When playing with Boy in rehearsal, Virginia broke her ankle.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41Bill's got this incredible photograph
0:24:41 > 0:24:44of Boy absolutely just starting to spring at me,
0:24:44 > 0:24:47and I'm going, "No, Boy", like this with my hands.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51But...that was useless, of course he landed on me, plonk,
0:24:51 > 0:24:53and I fell and my ankle just snapped.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59She soldiered on, first filming in plaster and later with a limp.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03And even after months of filming, it was clear that no-one could ever
0:25:03 > 0:25:06fully trust a killer carnivore.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08"Towards the end of filming,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11"Ginny had to play a long and loving embrace
0:25:11 > 0:25:14"with the lioness she knew best, Girl.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17"But she sensed something was wrong.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21"She was uneasy herself, the day was cloudy and cooler,
0:25:21 > 0:25:25"the scene was set under a tree with its mysterious rustle and swaying.
0:25:25 > 0:25:30"For the only time in her life, Girl turned on Ginny,
0:25:30 > 0:25:32"took her by the arm in her teeth
0:25:32 > 0:25:36"and firmly forced her face up on the ground.
0:25:36 > 0:25:40"Very slowly and quietly, Bill and I had to move in
0:25:40 > 0:25:44"to break up the clinch that was no longer loving."
0:25:47 > 0:25:50This series of events might have been enough to convince the stars
0:25:50 > 0:25:52that it was not the way to work.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55But on the contrary, George, Virginia and Bill
0:25:55 > 0:26:00were adamant that this was the only productive way to film with lions.
0:26:00 > 0:26:04Almost to the end there were lots of people who felt it was
0:26:04 > 0:26:08crazy to do it this way, and they would have preferred to have done it
0:26:08 > 0:26:10with more control, with circus animals.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14Although, frankly, I would have thought they could have seen
0:26:14 > 0:26:18with their own eyes how very different the behaviour of the animals,
0:26:18 > 0:26:23the expression on the animals' faces, the whole relationship between us and them.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27It was all too obvious to see that the way we did it was the way to do it.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32And we always believed that because we did it that way,
0:26:32 > 0:26:34the film survived.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38There are many, many films made with trained animals
0:26:38 > 0:26:45which haven't had that sort of amazing kind of gut impact on people.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49# Born free
0:26:49 > 0:26:53# As free as the wind blows... #
0:26:53 > 0:26:57The feel-good Hollywood production turned out to be a smash hit.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59The opening night in Leicester Square
0:26:59 > 0:27:01was attended by all the glitterati.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05The film went on to win seven awards.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08For the first time, it was possible to love a lion.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13Typically, George was not present at the premiere,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15never espousing the limelight.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22"We often speculated on the reasons that Born Free
0:27:22 > 0:27:26"appealed to such a phenomenal number and mixture of people.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28"Partly, of course, it was a love story.
0:27:28 > 0:27:35"Then partly it owed its impact to the fact that we had stayed on terms with an animal in the wild
0:27:35 > 0:27:41"which up until now had symbolised majestic strength and ferocity."
0:27:41 > 0:27:47Working on the film was the most profound life-changing experience for Virginia.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51She developed a huge affinity with the lions and didn't want
0:27:51 > 0:27:56to see them leave Africa for a life in captivity.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00She, Bill and the Adamsons were becoming activists
0:28:00 > 0:28:03fighting to save all lions.
0:28:03 > 0:28:06A struggle that would go on to shape the rest of their lives.
0:28:08 > 0:28:12In the midst of the battle to save the lions used in the film,
0:28:12 > 0:28:17Joy inspired Virginia by taking her to the actual camp where Elsa was raised.
0:28:19 > 0:28:21For the first time in 45 years,
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Virginia is trying to track down the exact spot.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59Of course I think a lot will have changed...
0:28:59 > 0:29:01It is a long time ago.
0:29:01 > 0:29:08And stuff's grown in and there's not so much of a sand bank as there was before.
0:29:10 > 0:29:16But there's a bank over there and is that a rock?
0:29:16 > 0:29:18There's a rock.
0:29:25 > 0:29:28And the camp is probably...
0:29:28 > 0:29:30was probably that way and it's all overgrown now.
0:29:30 > 0:29:33I mean we're talking of so long ago.
0:29:38 > 0:29:41And of course Joy describes where she did her painting and her writing
0:29:41 > 0:29:43as being under a huge tree.
0:29:43 > 0:29:45And here we have...
0:29:45 > 0:29:46BIRD CALL
0:29:46 > 0:29:47He's agreeing with me...
0:29:47 > 0:29:55This huge tree, this huge, amazing tree.
0:29:55 > 0:29:56This is it.
0:30:02 > 0:30:05And here I am standing in it at last.
0:30:05 > 0:30:07It's absolutely wonderful.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15And of course across here you've got the river
0:30:15 > 0:30:17where she brought the cubs across.
0:30:19 > 0:30:24It's just...perfect.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32The freedom given to Elsa that allowed her to breed in the wild
0:30:32 > 0:30:39acted as a guiding force for Virginia's battle against keeping animals in captivity.
0:30:39 > 0:30:44George showed her that each animal has a right to a decent life.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50I wish you were all standing here with me...
0:30:55 > 0:30:57Perhaps you are...
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Anyway.
0:31:11 > 0:31:16Virginia and Bill would go on to set up the Born Free Foundation,
0:31:16 > 0:31:20a group that to this day battles against the suffering
0:31:20 > 0:31:21of individual animals.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29But their first victory was securing three of the lions from the film
0:31:29 > 0:31:32for George to rehabilitate back into the wild.
0:31:36 > 0:31:41That Boy and Girl and Ugas story was the stepping stone for George
0:31:41 > 0:31:44that led to everything he did in the future.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48Those three lions set the seal in a way on his future,
0:31:48 > 0:31:52which was magic, absolute magic.
0:31:58 > 0:32:04George set up a new camp close to where they released Elsa in Meru Park.
0:32:04 > 0:32:06With the experience gained from Elsa,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08he devised a radical new plan.
0:32:08 > 0:32:10For the first time ever,
0:32:10 > 0:32:14he wanted to build a man-made pride out of his new lions.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18For Joy, no lion could ever replace Elsa,
0:32:18 > 0:32:23but she began to rehabilitate a cheetah a few miles away.
0:32:27 > 0:32:32This is the area where George had his camp.
0:32:32 > 0:32:351965 he came here,
0:32:35 > 0:32:40when he was given the three lions from Born Free to return to the wild.
0:32:41 > 0:32:48There are little relics of that camp still lying about and if we search,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53we'll find them and I always find that very poignant.
0:33:08 > 0:33:11Looks like a bit of vehicle to me.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15I'm not very mechanically minded,
0:33:15 > 0:33:17but that's what I think that is.
0:33:26 > 0:33:32More orphaned cubs were donated to George and soon he had seven lions.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36He needed help moulding them into a pride
0:33:36 > 0:33:39and found it in his godson, Jonny Baxendale.
0:33:39 > 0:33:47George realised by making up a pride of lions that this could and would be the way to do it.
0:33:47 > 0:33:49This had never been done before.
0:33:49 > 0:33:50And at this stage very...
0:33:50 > 0:33:53None of us really knew
0:33:53 > 0:33:57how lion society operated and worked.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00It was a very rough time to begin with.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02They had wild lions to deal with.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06Basically, we had intruded into somebody else's territory.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09This is a very prickly issue in lion society.
0:34:09 > 0:34:13Eventually they established a fantastic area of about 30...
0:34:13 > 0:34:1532 square miles we reckon.
0:34:18 > 0:34:24Finally, after about two years, they were totally self-sufficient.
0:34:24 > 0:34:28They were now absolutely free and they were able to look after
0:34:28 > 0:34:32themselves and for George I know this was a very special moment.
0:34:35 > 0:34:39As far as the attempt to actually return this group of animals
0:34:39 > 0:34:45to the wild to be self-sustaining and to breed and to hold their territory
0:34:45 > 0:34:49against wild lions, it was an absolute success.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03But the realities of Africa broke into their idyll.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Kenya had recently won independence
0:35:06 > 0:35:09and needed to feed its rapidly growing population.
0:35:11 > 0:35:16The local authorities couldn't afford to maintain the park for wildlife
0:35:16 > 0:35:20and thought it would be better used to grow rice.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24And Joy said "I tell you what, I'll foot the bill. I will pay for everything.
0:35:24 > 0:35:28"Don't take it off as a game reserve."
0:35:28 > 0:35:30And they, fortunately, agreed.
0:35:31 > 0:35:35Joy had amassed a small fortune from the Born Free book and film
0:35:35 > 0:35:40and set up the Elsa Trust, an organisation that saved Meru
0:35:40 > 0:35:43and went on to back wildlife projects all over the world.
0:35:43 > 0:35:47The Adamsons had turned from game warden and wife
0:35:47 > 0:35:50into global conservationists.
0:35:50 > 0:35:52A lot of people don't realise that.
0:35:52 > 0:35:56This park would not exist had it not been for the Adamsons
0:35:56 > 0:36:01and in particular Joy and the Elsa Trust, because that saved the day.
0:36:04 > 0:36:08But all the Adamson's good work was undone in a second
0:36:08 > 0:36:12when disaster struck in March 1969.
0:36:12 > 0:36:16Boy, one of the male lions, was lying on top of Jonny Baxendale's Land Rover
0:36:16 > 0:36:21when Peter Jenkins, the game warden, pulled alongside him to chat.
0:36:21 > 0:36:25In the back was his three-year old son, Mark.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28Boy very casually stepped down,
0:36:28 > 0:36:30pushed me aside because I tried to block him,
0:36:30 > 0:36:36and put his foot on the running board and reached right inside past Peter.
0:36:36 > 0:36:38He got Mark on the head like this.
0:36:40 > 0:36:47I saw Mark putting out his arm and Boy got him by the arm.
0:36:47 > 0:36:52By then, fortunately, Peter had started the car, took off down the road.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55And Boy was hanging in there and then eventually he came off.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56He let go and he came off the car,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59but I thought he was going to come out with Mark.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02In the meantime, I'd whipped my rifle out of my car
0:37:02 > 0:37:09and I was going to shoot Boy right off the side of the car because I knew this was all over.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13And just at that moment he came off the car
0:37:13 > 0:37:18and he fell on the road, fortunately without Mark.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20And then Boy sort of got up
0:37:20 > 0:37:23and looked sort of confused and everything.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25And I'll never forget looking down the scope sight
0:37:25 > 0:37:27as he stood there looking at me
0:37:27 > 0:37:30and I remember having it right on his forehead.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34And I was literally just about to press the trigger
0:37:34 > 0:37:39and take him out and I suddenly made a decision,
0:37:39 > 0:37:44split second decision not to shoot him, right there.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47So I put the rifle down, unloaded it, threw it in the car
0:37:47 > 0:37:52and Boy walked towards me and I knew the damage had been done then.
0:37:56 > 0:37:58That was a nasty bite
0:37:58 > 0:38:03and a very unfortunate incident, but it happened so quickly.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07It just shows you. It's just a serious wake up call.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11Although Mark didn't suffer grave physical injury,
0:38:11 > 0:38:15the predatory attack changed the perception of the Adamsons' work.
0:38:15 > 0:38:21People questioned the wisdom of releasing lions that could come into contact with people.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23Were they just breeding man-eaters?
0:38:25 > 0:38:30"In my naivety, I did not realise the heat of the opposition
0:38:30 > 0:38:34"which had boiled up against me in the National Parks."
0:38:34 > 0:38:39The chief warden gave George the choice - either to shoot Boy
0:38:39 > 0:38:42or continue his work with him elsewhere.
0:38:42 > 0:38:45Both George and Joy were forced to leave Meru Park,
0:38:45 > 0:38:48where they had brought up Elsa,
0:38:48 > 0:38:51and now no other National Park would touch them.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53George chose to stick with Boy,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57a decision that would come to haunt him later.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04After a year of looking,
0:39:04 > 0:39:08he set up camp in Kora, an area of densely thorny bush
0:39:08 > 0:39:11in the back of beyond.
0:39:11 > 0:39:13"I had only two tents to my name,
0:39:13 > 0:39:18"but I was honestly happier than if they had been a couple of palaces."
0:39:20 > 0:39:22George could now continue his work with lions
0:39:22 > 0:39:27in comparative safety as there were no people nearby.
0:39:27 > 0:39:34"I'd found a place where I would be happy to settle and die."
0:39:34 > 0:39:38His first task was to establish a new pride for Boy.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Little could he have guessed where one of the lions would come from.
0:39:51 > 0:39:56George's old friends Virginia and Bill came across a male lion cub
0:39:56 > 0:40:02called Christian that was being brought up on the fashionable King's Road in London.
0:40:02 > 0:40:04After the Born Free film,
0:40:04 > 0:40:07Bill became a successful wildlife film-maker
0:40:07 > 0:40:09and recorded the whole story.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13The young lion we discovered belonged to Ace and John,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15two Australians who worked at the shop.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18They'd been keeping him there for the past four months.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21They bought him when quite small from a big department store
0:40:21 > 0:40:26in London's expensive Knightsbridge area that sells everything and anything.
0:40:26 > 0:40:31Bill and Virginia wanted to release Christian back into the wild
0:40:31 > 0:40:33and knew just the man in Kenya to do it.
0:40:35 > 0:40:39George was interested to know if it was possible to return
0:40:39 > 0:40:42a fifth generation captive-bred lion to the wild.
0:40:44 > 0:40:47Male lions often fight to dominate a pride
0:40:47 > 0:40:51and the huge Boy looked as if he wanted to kill the new arrival.
0:40:55 > 0:40:59After days of keeping them apart, getting them used to each other's scents,
0:40:59 > 0:41:02George decided that they would have to meet in the open.
0:41:04 > 0:41:09Would Christian's natural instincts still help to protect him?
0:41:11 > 0:41:14"There was no doubt that he would go for Christian...
0:41:16 > 0:41:20"..it was just a question of how violent the attack would be."
0:41:31 > 0:41:34It was a massively successful reintroduction...
0:41:34 > 0:41:41Boy, this enormous great, incredible lion and this really slightly timid
0:41:41 > 0:41:45little lion from England, you know, who behaved instinctively, perfectly,
0:41:45 > 0:41:50when challenged by Boy, submissively down, crouching on his back, I mean,
0:41:50 > 0:41:53he could not have behaved in a more appropriate way,
0:41:53 > 0:41:56so he was truly wild at heart still.
0:41:58 > 0:42:00John and Ace went back to London,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03leaving George to get on with Christian's rehabilitation.
0:42:03 > 0:42:08George needed assistance and found it in Tony Fitzjohn.
0:42:08 > 0:42:13In very real terms, Christian was the first friend I ever had.
0:42:13 > 0:42:17He'd made it thus far, but the odds were stacked against him.
0:42:17 > 0:42:22And me, I didn't know what the hell I was doing, you know.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25So the two of us had to work it out together.
0:42:25 > 0:42:28"Tony was fearless in dealing with lions,
0:42:28 > 0:42:34"neither his energy nor his capacity for mischief were often restrained.
0:42:34 > 0:42:38"Like Christian, he had an unnerving habit of disappearing from camp,
0:42:38 > 0:42:44"without warning, for weeks on end, and of materialising again just as unexpectedly.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49"There the parallel ended, for his dexterity with girlfriends
0:42:49 > 0:42:52"was in a different league from Christian's,
0:42:52 > 0:42:57"and I never once found Christian with a bottle at his elbow."
0:43:00 > 0:43:03"The early days with Boy and Christian
0:43:03 > 0:43:06were some of the most enjoyable days of my life."
0:43:06 > 0:43:11Come on, Boy. Come on, Christian!
0:43:11 > 0:43:16Come on, Christian! Come on, Boy.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20Boy and Christian became inseparable
0:43:20 > 0:43:26and when more lions arrived at camp, the rehabilitation programme became a success again.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28Over the course of nearly 20 years,
0:43:28 > 0:43:32more than 30 lions passed through George's hands.
0:43:32 > 0:43:37He honed his operation down to the bare essentials,
0:43:37 > 0:43:40leading a simple, pure life out in the bush.
0:43:42 > 0:43:46"Living for animals means that we have to live like animals.
0:43:46 > 0:43:50"Our eyes and ears have to pick up sights and sounds
0:43:50 > 0:43:52"that most others would miss.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55"I have not taken a morning paper for 40 years.
0:43:55 > 0:43:59"The news I need is printed on the ground."
0:44:05 > 0:44:08The single moment that would cement Christian's place in history
0:44:08 > 0:44:12occurred when John and Ace returned to George's camp
0:44:12 > 0:44:14nearly a year after they'd left.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20The question they all wanted to know was would Christian,
0:44:20 > 0:44:25who was now living in the wild, still remember them?
0:44:43 > 0:44:45It's been a positive,
0:44:45 > 0:44:50wonderful, inspirational thing for people because they see that
0:44:50 > 0:44:56connection between man and animal, which we're so short of these days.
0:44:57 > 0:45:04A clip from that film has been shown millions of times on YouTube,
0:45:04 > 0:45:10and through that clip, of course, everyone has wanted to know about Christian.
0:45:10 > 0:45:13And of course he never forgot them.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15A lot of people around the world
0:45:15 > 0:45:19obviously were fascinated by Christian greeting Ace and John.
0:45:19 > 0:45:21For George and myself this was quite normal.
0:45:21 > 0:45:23Of course he remembered them.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27Of course because they were friends way back he'd want to say hello to them
0:45:27 > 0:45:29and a lion's way of saying hello is a head rub.
0:45:29 > 0:45:35Now, it doesn't happen every day in Surbiton or Kansas or Wichita or somewhere,
0:45:35 > 0:45:39but it does out here if you're working with them.
0:45:39 > 0:45:45But staying in close proximity to a huge killer animal out in the wild
0:45:45 > 0:45:47meant that danger was never far away.
0:45:53 > 0:45:55George's assistant Stanley knew Boy well.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58But when he wandered outside the perimeter fence of the camp,
0:45:58 > 0:46:03he was killed by the very lion he'd cared for.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06The shadow that Boy cast when he attacked the child in Meru
0:46:06 > 0:46:10had now arisen and struck again...
0:46:10 > 0:46:12this time fatally.
0:46:12 > 0:46:16George was forced to shoot Boy immediately.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21"Lions very quiet,
0:46:21 > 0:46:25"they know something has happened.
0:46:25 > 0:46:28"Boy, my old friend...
0:46:28 > 0:46:29"farewell!"
0:46:30 > 0:46:37George knew that he would lose the support and hearts of the outside world with this tragic fatal attack.
0:46:37 > 0:46:45But even so, he loved Boy so much that he asked to be buried next to him when he passed away.
0:46:45 > 0:46:47"As I have learned at great cost,
0:46:47 > 0:46:53"it might be true to say that no lion is completely reliable.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55"But are many human beings either?"
0:47:00 > 0:47:03Joy also shared this sense of mistrust of humans
0:47:03 > 0:47:08and always felt reassured in the presence of animals.
0:47:08 > 0:47:12Into her old age, she was still exploring new ground
0:47:12 > 0:47:16by bringing up a leopard in a similar remote camp to George's.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19But her downfall was sudden.
0:47:19 > 0:47:23She was killed when taking her evening walk in the bush.
0:47:23 > 0:47:26The media reported that a lion had taken her.
0:47:26 > 0:47:32In fact, a member of her staff, whom she'd recently sacked,
0:47:32 > 0:47:34murdered her.
0:47:38 > 0:47:43"It was difficult to comprehend that Joy had gone,
0:47:43 > 0:47:46"and dreadful to know of the way of her death.
0:47:46 > 0:47:48"Far better had it been a lion.
0:47:48 > 0:47:53"Whatever our differences, our fondness remained to the end
0:47:53 > 0:47:57"and had, if anything, deepened over the years."
0:47:59 > 0:48:01"Destroying the wilderness,
0:48:01 > 0:48:05"and robbing its prospects of peace and of game,
0:48:05 > 0:48:08"man leaves only the promise of danger.
0:48:08 > 0:48:13"He has killed ten of my lions and murdered my wife."
0:48:29 > 0:48:34As Joy wanted, George scattered her ashes on Elsa's grave,
0:48:34 > 0:48:38so she could be reunited with the greatest love of her life
0:48:38 > 0:48:43by the place where Joy said, "Sitting there with Elsa close to me,
0:48:43 > 0:48:47"I felt as though I were on the doorstep to Paradise."
0:48:49 > 0:48:55"Joy had conviction that somewhere and somehow the spirit of Elsa
0:48:55 > 0:49:00"was at large and directly influencing events in her life and mine,
0:49:00 > 0:49:04"not to mention the animals we subsequently cared for
0:49:04 > 0:49:09"and indeed others in danger all over the world."
0:49:09 > 0:49:14The spirit that both Joy and Elsa shared will always be treasured
0:49:14 > 0:49:16through the Born Free film.
0:49:19 > 0:49:23It's all right. It's really all right.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26She's done it. She's crossed the bridge.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29She's wild now and free.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32You should be very happy.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34And proud.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36We've...
0:49:36 > 0:49:39You've done something no-one else has ever done
0:49:39 > 0:49:41and you should be very proud.
0:49:41 > 0:49:43I am...
0:49:43 > 0:49:46of her.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48Well, you might at least stop laughing.
0:49:55 > 0:50:00Whilst the Born Free fairy tale had won lions millions of fans across the world
0:50:00 > 0:50:03George was facing a very different reality.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08Africa was changing fast in the '80s.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11The population increase meant that more pastoralists and bandits
0:50:11 > 0:50:13came closer to the camp
0:50:13 > 0:50:17and burnt the bush to clear space for their livestock.
0:50:17 > 0:50:22George's lions started to get hunted down by them, and even poisoned.
0:50:24 > 0:50:26"So far I had tended to think of Kora
0:50:26 > 0:50:30"as 500 square miles of unwanted bush,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33"a tribal no-man's land
0:50:33 > 0:50:38"in which lions could wander freely in comparative safety to themselves and others.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41"I now began to think of it differently, as a landscape
0:50:41 > 0:50:46"whose inhabitants, from the smallest microbe to the largest elephant,
0:50:46 > 0:50:49"had evolved and interlocked over millions of years,
0:50:49 > 0:50:56"but which now were being threatened with more rapid and disastrous changes than ever before."
0:50:57 > 0:51:02The fundamental reason that things have so changed in Africa
0:51:02 > 0:51:05is simply the size of the human population.
0:51:05 > 0:51:07Understandably, they want somewhere to live,
0:51:07 > 0:51:09they want somewhere for their cities.
0:51:09 > 0:51:13So they can only come from one place and that's the natural world,
0:51:13 > 0:51:16so the natural world has become more and more squeezed.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18The first things that are affected by that
0:51:18 > 0:51:22are the things that have huge natural ranges, which include predators.
0:51:25 > 0:51:30By the late '80s, George only had a handful of lions left in Kora.
0:51:30 > 0:51:35This was representative of a trend that was being repeated right across the continent.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37Lions were being hammered by people.
0:51:37 > 0:51:43And it was human pressure around Kora that led George to face his final challenge.
0:51:43 > 0:51:48On 20th August 1989, the 83-year-old George heard shots
0:51:48 > 0:51:51and went to help a young German volunteer
0:51:51 > 0:51:54who was in trouble with local bandits close to the camp.
0:51:57 > 0:52:03Tony Fitzjohn is revisiting the exact scene with Ibrahim, a Wildlife Service Ranger.
0:52:04 > 0:52:07(HE SPEAKS SWAHILI)
0:52:09 > 0:52:12George came charging down... he saw what was happening.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16Ibrahim says he didn't slow at all. He just came straight at them.
0:52:18 > 0:52:23The coroner said as the car passed, George was still alive.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26He said the car was riddled with stuff.
0:52:28 > 0:52:33And George came steaming down here and the bullets just kept hitting the car.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40The bullet that killed him, even though he was riddled... his legs were off...
0:52:40 > 0:52:46was the one that went in through the back after they'd gone past.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53The car lost control and went off,
0:52:53 > 0:52:57and hit that little commiphora tree there.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05The whole of the bottom half of his face was shot off and hanging on...
0:53:08 > 0:53:11He said it was a huge loss for us, for all of us.
0:53:13 > 0:53:16For all of us he was, you know, like a father
0:53:16 > 0:53:20and as much to these guys as me, you know.
0:53:49 > 0:53:53The man known to locals as the 'Father of the Lions'
0:53:53 > 0:53:57was fittingly buried in a simple grave close to his camp.
0:54:00 > 0:54:05The palpable sense of loss at the funeral was far-reaching.
0:54:05 > 0:54:11It marked the end of an era for the lions of Kora and symbolically for lions across Africa.
0:54:13 > 0:54:19Glory be to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost...
0:54:19 > 0:54:23I think we were one of millions of people
0:54:23 > 0:54:26who were absolutely shattered when we heard George had been killed.
0:54:26 > 0:54:31It was a very, very highly charged emotional event.
0:54:33 > 0:54:36Really, really deeply upsetting.
0:54:40 > 0:54:43Even the people that were so opposed to George
0:54:43 > 0:54:46absolutely adored him, they just really admired him.
0:54:46 > 0:54:51You know, we all want to be loved by everybody but he was, that's the beauty.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55And he was loved by the wildlife, that's pretty good going.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00Tony Fitzjohn had prepared a tribute for the funeral,
0:55:00 > 0:55:03but didn't get the opportunity to say it.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07A very great friend of mine helped me write a little speech
0:55:07 > 0:55:10and the one bit I always wanted to say was that,
0:55:10 > 0:55:16"Wherever I've gone in the world, wherever I've been,
0:55:16 > 0:55:20"there was at least one clean sunlit wilderness
0:55:20 > 0:55:24"where a man who walked with lions was my friend and partner.
0:55:30 > 0:55:34"And now the world seems instantly smaller and harsher
0:55:34 > 0:55:37because an important part of it has gone."
0:55:49 > 0:55:50Sorry.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59After people had left the funeral,
0:55:59 > 0:56:05the wild lions that George had known gathered and stayed by his grave.
0:56:10 > 0:56:14George lived the life he wanted with lions.
0:56:14 > 0:56:19He lived in a unique bubble of time when lions were plentiful
0:56:19 > 0:56:23and there was enough wilderness for his rehabilitation experiment.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32George left us with an appreciation
0:56:32 > 0:56:37that lions, and many other large animals, are individuals,
0:56:37 > 0:56:40unique beings with different characters.
0:56:42 > 0:56:47In time, that has made us evaluate our own place in nature
0:56:47 > 0:56:49and question our catastrophic impact
0:56:49 > 0:56:53on the population of lions across the world.
0:56:53 > 0:56:58In George's time, no-one ever said lions are going to be endangered.
0:56:58 > 0:57:01There were so many, we were awash with lions, you know.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05Now there are less than 2,000 in Kenya.
0:57:05 > 0:57:06It's crisis time.
0:57:11 > 0:57:14Elsa was the lioness that changed the world
0:57:14 > 0:57:18because of the relationship she had with the Adamsons.
0:57:18 > 0:57:22We now have to imagine a world without lions.
0:57:22 > 0:57:26Can we rekindle the passion that Elsa and Born Free aroused
0:57:26 > 0:57:27to help save the species?
0:57:29 > 0:57:34George foresaw the threat to lions over 20 years ago.
0:57:35 > 0:57:40He ended his autobiography with a plea for Africa's lions.
0:57:42 > 0:57:47"I feel I can no longer go on answering questions about Kora.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50"But I have some to ask.
0:57:50 > 0:57:56"Who will now care for the animals in the reserve, for they cannot look after themselves?
0:57:56 > 0:58:00"Are there young men and women in Kenya
0:58:00 > 0:58:02"who are willing to take on this charge?
0:58:04 > 0:58:09"Who will raise their voices when mine is carried away on the wind?"
0:58:23 > 0:58:26Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:58:26 > 0:58:30E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk