Joy Adamson was born in Troppau, Austria on 20th January 1910. Her parents were desperately hoping for a son but ended up
with a second daughter. She was named Friederike Viktoria but her father called her Fritz and encouraged her to wear boys clothes. After the failure of her first marriage to Rufus Fifi (as she was also known) set sail on 12th March 1938 for Kenya. Fifi then went on to marry a man called Peter Bally in April 1938. Peter decided to call her Joy. During the Christmas season in 1942 Joy met
George Adamson at an impromptu party and after a brief affair divorced Peter Bally and married George January 1944. George was appointed to look after the game in the vast area in the north of Kenya. During a hunt for a man eating lion George and is friend were taken by surprise by a
lioness suddenly attacking them. They had to kill the lioness immediately. After noticing the lioness was heavy with milk the men discovered three lion cubs. The men took them back to camp where Joy named them Elsa, Lustica and One. Elsa was Joy,s favourite. Inevitably the cubs grew to big to remain with Joy and George and it was suggested by the chief game warden Willie Hale that the cubs be despatched to Rotterdan Zoo. Elsa's two sisters were sent there but Elsa remained with Joy. The Adamson,s finally admitted that they had to train Elsa to hunt for herself in the wild so that she could be released. Elsa was taken to Mara where she was briefly accepted by a pride before becoming ill and then she was taken back to Northern Kenya. After recovering Elsa was left for longer periods in the bush and was eventually able to fend for herself. On 20th Dec 1959 Elsa gave birth a litter of three cubs. Elsa one day brought them into camp for Joy and George to see. Joy named the cubs Jespah,Gopa and Little Elsa and for obvious reasons were careful to keep them wild. In January 1961 Elsa fell ill and died. The cubs who still came about the camp were unfortunately causing havoc trying to kill herdsmens livestock and were ordered to be shot by the new chief game warden.. After researching into were they could release the cubs it was decided they could go to the Serengeti Game Reserve where the largest congregation of animals occured. Joy Adamson had a very eventful life in which she had a lot of critics and not many friends. When Joy was found at the side of the road lying unconcious in a pool of blood it was thought that she had been attacked by a lion. On further investigation it was thought that she had been killed by an Afican. Nobody knows just exactly how Joy died. One thing for certain is that the relationship she had with Elsa the lioness was very deep and special. The book Born Free is all about Elsa the lioness and it is a truly intriguing story which will pull at anybodies heartstrings.