THE LEGACY OF GEORGE ADAMSON STILL REMAINS AT KORA - BUT ONLY JUST

TEN YEARS ago George Adamson was shot dead by Somali bandits as he drove his Land Rover at an armed poaching gang in an effort to save a friend. He was killed at Kora, the dry tract of land in the north-east of Kenya where he had lived and worked with lions.

Best known for his work with the lioness, Elsa (recounted in his wife Joy's Born Free books), his camp at Kora was a collection of thatched huts surrounded by a 10ft-high-wire fence, close to the Tana River.

Kora was close to nature in many ways - bats roosted under beds, a 4ft monitor lizard lived in the thatch, and every morning a flock of guinea fowl whizzed round the camp like a giant blue-feathered vacuum cleaner picking up crumbs from the sand. George lived there with brother Terence - an engineer and water diviner - plus many assorted friends and helpers.

Kampi ya Simba ("Camp of the Lions") drew people from all over the world. At dusk, George, his protege Tony Fitzjohn and friends would sit outside as the lions came up close for camel meat.

George was 83 when he died, with shoulder-length white hair and a short silver beard. The fact that Kora is now a protected reserve is down to his determination but, while wardens still watch over the game here, the camp itself has fallen into disrepair and the reserve is still regarded as unsafe for travellers. Restoration begins later this year but, meanwhile, George's philosophy is continued through Tony Fitzjohn, who now runs the Mkomazi reserve in Tanzania, working with black rhinos and wild dogs.

Rachel Henry

More information: the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust on 0181-343 4246