Mara the Lioness domesticated dog. Along with animal lovers, naturalists and experienced game wardens, they held the belief that integration back into the wild would harm Mara, rather than benefit. Mara did not fear man and indeed went out of her way to approach and play. This posed an enormous risk to her safety. In addition, release into the wild would place Mara and the other lionesses at risk of contracting "Babesia". Domesticated animals have no resistance to the fatal disease, a fact which George and Joy Adamson knew. Their lion Elsa had died of the same disease not less than two years
Born Free released in 1969. The film follows "Born Free"-actor Bill Travers as he journeys to a remote area in Kenya to visit George Adamson, and several of Adamson's lion friends. In 1974, a 13-episode American television series was broadcast by NBC, entitled "Born Free", starring Diana Muldaur and Gary Collins as Joy and George Adamson. The series was later followed by television film in 1996 called "", with Linda Purl and Chris Noth. Joy and George Adamson do not appear as the main characters in the story. "To Walk with Lions" (1999) depicts the last years of George Adamson's life, as