On. How To Raise Lions

Anyone who has lived in a household ruled by a domestic cat will understand something of the troubles Mrs. Joy Adam son has with her lions. But it is obvious, reading between the lines of her fourth book on the subject, Forever Free, that every one doesn’t share her sentiments.

ELSA, the lioness, who was the heroine of Born Free, Living Free and Elsa, the Story of a Lioness (mostly pictures) dies early in the current book and George and Joy Adamson assume the responsibility for Elsa’s three part-grown cubs, Little Elsa, Jespah and Gopa.

Trouble develops almost immedi ately because the cubs, unlike Elsa, had never been more than partly tame, and heavy-booted Authority demanded that they be removed from the area for fear that, in their part civilised state, they might attack humans.

Most people, at this stage, would have quietly given the cubs to a zoo; the Adamsons, however, decided to find the cubs a new home, and after shopping around amongst African game reserves selected the Serengeti, in Tanganyika. This meant a trek of 700 miles from where George was located as a game-warden near Mt.

Kenya and, as a considerable amount of time was involved, his resignation from his post.

The move was further complicated by the fact that the cubs disappeared soon after Elsa’s death and began raiding African huts for domestic goats (which seems to prove that they were already well enough equipped to do their own hunting).

But finally the cubs were rounded up and captured—Jespah with the head of an African’s spear buried in his rump—and the long journey accomplished. In Serengeti, Joy and George settled down to the business of being papa and mama to the cubs, but it wasn’t long before tension grew up between the Park Trust and the Adamsons—the one holding that the cubs were advanced enough to fend for themselves and should be left to their fate; the Adamsons be believing that they were still too young to leave home.

Public Relations Job This went on for several months until the cubs decided things, by losing themselves in the vast Serengeti.

Joy Adamson’s stories of Elsa and her cubs have interested people all over the world and, in their own way, have done a great public relations job for Africa and its assorted game parks. It remains to be seen now how much more she is going to try to wring out of the situation, and, if she is wise, she will leave it where it lies.

Forever Free has, to a very large extent, departed from being the story of animals to being a story of the emotions of humans about animals.

The photos in this book are magnificent and anyone contemplat ing a visit to East Africa would be well advised to acquire it on that account alone.—JT. (FOREVIR FREE. Published by Collins. 35/-.)