6th April 67
Dear Mr. Salisbury,
thank you so much for your letter of 14th March and the 2 interesting photos of your PUMA. Congratulation to their splendid condition.
Your inquiry for a CARACAL from our area– I can not answer.
Please do not misunderstand my unwillingness to help you here – but in principle I do not agree that any of the wild animals should become deprived of their freedom and sent into captivity – however good and loving the owners may be. There are so many tragedies connected with the trade of wild animals and you mention only a few – but I know what goes on when dealers want to oblige an ORDER and make money. For every young animal – several mothers are killed and the young creatures often die before they can be sold and shipped, leave alone how many can not take the journey or adapt themselves to new environments in captivity.
…We are trying as hard as we can to PRESERVE THE WILD ANIMALS WITHIN THEIR NATURAL HABITATS – and if you would realise the alarming decline of many species, especially the show-off cars – you would be the first person to agree with me that all these animals should be left alone.
Of course I sympathise with your interest and love to have one of these fascinating caracals – I reared one who was ALWAYS difficult to handle. […]
I believe PIPPA – my female cheetah ONLY breeds because she is utterly free – she roams with her cubs through some 10 … miles and they cover daily several miles of it. That may be the answer why cheetah in captivity do NOT breed, except at Krefel Zoo – apart from several other psychological reasons which are frustrated in captivity!
Kindest regards and all good luck with Prince and Princess – what a lovely pair.
Yours sincerely
Joy Adamson
In her best-selling 1960 book Born Free, Joy Adamson (1910–1980) shared the story of ‘Elsa the Lioness’, a cub that she and her husband George Adamson raised from their home in Kenya, after George realised he had killed the mother in self-defence.
Elsa Conservation Trust
In her best-selling 1960 book Born Free, Joy Adamson (1910–1980) shared the story of ‘Elsa the Lioness’, a cub that she and her husband George Adamson raised from their home in Kenya, after George realised he had killed the mother in self-defence.
After years of training the lioness to survive in the wild, the Adamsons set her free. Elsa was the first successful released lion to have a litter of cubs in the wild. While the Adamsons retained contact with the group, it was only from afar, out of respect for their wildness; something that Joy hints at in this letter to a wildlife enthusiast.
Elsa Conservation Trust
