Born Free "Ensessakotteh"

Born Free. Yes, you heard that right. Born Free. Like the movie (trailer below) or the book, or the awful and glorious song.

All of which give me flashbacks to my childhood.

I don't know how many of you know this about me but when I was a kid I was obsessed with big cats.   When I was a youth I even had the chance to volunteer at a big cat sanctuary in Ontario with my best friend and it was like the highlight of my life for years.   Look at me, I'm still casually dropping that experience into conversations and blog posts.   It was really cool.   Big cats are amazing animals.   Also, I recently repurchased a copy of "My Pride and Joy" by George Adamson which I am super excited to revisit.

So, the Adamsons not only successfully reintegrated Elsa into the wild,  George Adamson  was also instrumental to reintegrating  Christian the Lion  (of You Tube fame) into the wild.   The old guy in the footage below is George.

The actress Virginia Mckenna who played the role of Joy Adamson in Born Free the movie, was so moved by the  lives and work of the Adamsons  that she started a foundation called Born Free.   From small beginnings, the Born Free Foundation has grown into a global force for wildlife.   They work to prevent  individual animal suffering, protect threatened species and keep wildlife in the wild .   The foundation works in Kenya (where the Adamsons lived) and they have a partner organization in the USA.

So the Born Free Foundation is developing a Wildlife Rescue, Conservation and Education Centre in Ethiopia, named   Ensessakotteh  (‘animal footprint’ phonetically in Amharic), on an idyllic 77-hectare site just 23km from Addis Ababa.   They are working in partnership with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA) and with support of the current government.

At Ensessakotteh, Born Free will provide  veterinary and rehabilitation facilities , plus  lifetime care for injured and orphaned wild animals , as well as others  confiscated from illegal trade and ownership .   Wherever possible, and where there is no danger to humans, rescued animals will be released back into the wild in collaboration with EWCA.  

 Note: At present, if the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority discovers an illegally held animal, they are unable to confiscate it since there is nowhere suitable for them to take the animal. Born Free has already begun to rescue animals and provide them with a safe home.

Rescuing Dolo the lion from Awash Park in Ethiopia:

Ensessakotteh will include an educational programme offering both ‘outreach’ and ‘centre-based’ programmes in an on-site visitor centre.   Born Free hopes the Centre will offer a truly all-embracing,  memorable educational experience  for the national (I predict awesome school trips from Addis) as well as international visitors.   Capacity-building and conservation in Ethiopia are vital areas where Born Free Ethiopia and Ensessakotteh hope to contribute as the organization becomes more established.

If you have been to Addis Ababa you may have visited the ' Lion Zoo ' which is a zoo featuring 20 some lions who are descendants of  Haile Selassie's private collection of lions .   As a symbol of Ethiopia, the lion is revered, yet within the zoo the lions lay on concrete floors, in small barred areas with no enrichment.   Ensessakotteh is planning hopes to offer an opportunity to these lions to live in large, grassy and naturalistic enclosures.

You can read more about all their plans here:
http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/further-activities/born-free-ethiopia/
Ensessakotteh is still being built so it is not yet open to the public. 
I've been in touch with the team there and they've told me they are in  need of some very basic items  like;

• headlamps in order to keep their team's hands free when they are working at night. (I'd prefer to buy these in Addis)
• small digital cameras for the field team to document their findings. (Update: our quota is filled)
• carabiners that are of climbing grade, to lock gates together.

Between Mike and I we have two 'extra' digital cameras in fair condition that are sitting around the house so I'm going to bring them with me and leave them with the workers to either use or sell. SD Memory Cards for cameras are also "hard to come by" they say. (Update: our Memory Card quota for this trip is filled)

International conservation organizations do some really great and important work around the world and Born Free is one of those big guys.   I really like Ensessakotteh's tri focus on rescue, conservation and education.    If you are interested in joining me in supporting their work , let me know. 


Links: Born Free: http://www.bornfree.org.uk/ Born Free Ethiopia: http://www.bornfree.org.uk/campaigns/further-activities/born-free-ethiopia/