Mara the Lioness
Mara the Lioness is an animal actor who appeared as Elsa in the 1966 movie "Born Free", based on the true story of Elsa the Lioness raised by George and Joy Adamson.

Mara was born in the wild in 1965, a premature cub abandoned by her mother during a violent rain storm. She was found lying on sodden ground, caked in mud on the plains of Masailand by Samwel, an African game scout and Larry Wateridge. Sick with hunger and in a semi coma, she was taken to a nearby coffee plantation in Kenya owned by British couple Irene and Douglas Grindlay.
Irene Grindlay took it upon herself to nurse the ailing cub back to health. Initially Mara was to stay only a few days but she soon became a permanent fixture, hand reared and fully domesticated. As she grew larger however it became increasingly clear that she would need to be relocated.

The most obvious choice was the local animal orphanage at the entrance to the Nairobi National Park. Opened in September 1963 as a refuge for orphaned or sick wild animals, the park initially held less than thirty animals, with Ugas (who also starred in the movie "Born Free") the only lion. By 1965 the park held 117 orphans of 36 species including lion, leopard, cheetahs, african buffalo, camels, hyena, jackal and wild dogs. 

It took many months for Mara to settle into her new home where she was affectionately known as the "friendly lioness". The Grindlays, as self-appointed guardians, remained in frequent contact.
Q1453797
Born Free
MEDIA
Q1333406
Elsa the Lioness
Concept
Q93645
Joy Adamson
PER
None
Masailand
UNK
Q160645
orphanage
Concept
Q739993
Nairobi National Park
LOC
Q7432
species
Concept
Q34706
leopard
Concept
Q23907
cheetah
Concept
Q160042
african buffalo
Concept
Q7375
camel
Concept
Q42046
hyena
Concept
Q125525
jackal
Concept
Q173651
wild dogs
Concept
Q6754528
Mara the Lioness
MISC
1966-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1966
DATE
1965-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1965
DATE
1963-09-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
September 1963
DATE
1965-01-01T00:00:00Z^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#dateTime
1965
DATE
+36^^http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#decimal
36
NUMBER
date of birth
date of birth
depicts
significant person