Born Free Foundation Born Free Foundation The Born Free Foundation is an international conservation and animal rights organisation based in the United Kingdom focusing on wild animals. It originated in 1984 as the "Zoo Check Campaign" by actors Virginia McKenna and her husband Bill Travers along with their son Will Travers and four associates. McKenna and Travers had been greatly affected by the plight of wild animals after starring together in the 1966 film "Born Free" which told the story of George and Joy Adamson as they returned Elsa the Lioness to the wilds of Africa. They appeared in several more films about
Joy Adamson book of her paintings, "Joy Adamson's Africa", was published in 1972. She rehabilitated a cheetah and an African leopard. Pippa the cheetah was raised as a pet and given to Adamson at the age of seven months in hopes that she could also be released. Pippa had four litters before her death. Adamson wrote "The Spotted Sphinx" and "Pippa's Challenge" about Pippa and her cheetah family. Later, Adamson reached her goal of many years, when she obtained an African leopard cub. Penny was eight weeks old when a ranger acquaintance of George Adamson found her in 1976. Penny had a