A Natural Master of the African Wild
Born in about 1920, Makedde Lobotio was Turkana in origin and worked for irregular periods with George Adamson as a game scout from 1941. He gained great experience with wildlife and soon after the Adamsons took over the cubs in 1956, Makedde started to work for them more regularly. When they moved to the Ura river site in Meru, in 1958, Makedde played an important role in looking after Elsa, shooting antelope and buying goats to feed her and walking with her and George. He features in photographs: one shows Elsa, fully grown, on her forelegs between George and Makedde. Each man had one hand on the lioness and both carried rifles, as they usually did when walking in the bush. The image conveys mutual trust with the animals and between the men.
George also took photographs of Makedde himself with Elsa.
In 1960 George was still working in the wildlife service and had to return to his duties in Isiolo, a four hour drive from the Ura site. Joy sometimes stayed at the Ura river with the African staff and Makedde became a key figure who could meet the difficult demands of Elsa, including hunting for her and her cubs, and coping with Joy’s sometimes fiery temperament. When Billy Collins, publisher of Born Free, visited from London in May 1960, he accompanied them and took responsibility.
He role is mentioned in the text of Joy’s second book Living Free.[1] Makedde’s second wife, and his sister-in-law, recalled him as being unusually sympathetic to animals of all kinds, and smelling of lions, so that when he came home to his village near Isiolo, cattle avoided him.[2] ‘He was famous for lions’, they said, and was reputed to sleep next to them.
[1] Adamson, Born Free, following page 112, ‘Every morning we took Elsa for a walk’.
[2] Interview, Kaloo Ewoi and others, Isiolo, April 2010, William Beinart and Neil Carrier.
Keep the Adamsons’ Mission Alive
The wilderness that Makedde and the Adamsons fought so hard to protect still needs our help. Today, apex predators and their habitats face greater threats than ever before.
You don’t have to be in the bush to make a world-class impact on conservation.
By making a donation today, you directly support vital wildlife protection initiatives that honour the enduring legacy of George, Joy, and Makedde. Every contribution helps ensure that future generations can still hear the roar of wild lions.