The Story of Elsa - A Very Special Lion

With this child-friendly version of the Born Free story, introduce your students to the true story of Elsa the lioness, and her journey from orphaned cub back to the wild. Included in this resource is a PDF presentation storybook, which can be shared with KS1 students, either on the board or printed for guided reading sessions. This resource can also be used with KS2 students as a way of introducing a subject or debate topic, such as the ethics of keeping wild animals in captivity.

Elsa became world-famous as the real-life inspiration for Joy Adamson’s autobiographical book Born Free (1960) and the subsequent film adaptation starring Dame Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers MBE (1966). Her story also helped inspire the founding of international wildlife charity, Born Free, where she features on the charity’s logo, as a reminder of her journey to freedom and how important each and every individual wild animal is.