Joy Adamson litter of two cubs before the publication of "Queen of Shaba", Joy Adamson's posthumous and final book. During her lifetime, she created more than 500 paintings and line drawings. Her work included the people of Kenya, botanical and animal paintings, and studies of Elsa. On 3 January 1980, in Shaba National Reserve in Kenya, Joy Adamson's body was discovered by her assistant, Peter Morson (whose name has sometimes been reported as Pieter Mawson). He mistakenly assumed she had been killed by a lion, and this was what was initially reported by the media. She was several weeks shy of her
Mara the Lioness earlier when they had attempted to release her back into the wild. Eventually only Ugas was released into the Meru Game Reserve. It was decided that Mara was too tame and she and the other lionesses should be relocated to Whipsnade Park. Just prior to her departure Mara gave birth to male and female twin cubs, sired by Ugas during the filming of "Born Free". In 1966, Irene Grindlay wrote a book titled "Velvet Paws" which detailed the life of Mara up to and including her appearance in the movie "Born Free". ""We have no reason to reproach ourselves. We