Born Wild by Tony Fitzjohn is a story that will take the reader on an emotional rollercoaster. From highs most people will never imagine to tragedies most people would never WANT to imagine, Fitzjohn's story is truly larger than life.
Born in England, Fitzjohn is now as close to being a native of Africa as anyone not born there can be. He and his family are fluent in Swahili, and their passion for the animals there is unsurpassed.
Tony began his life in Africa with George Adamson, the husband of Joy Adamson of Born Free (and the lion Elsa) fame. His "first" lion was Christian, the lion who was purchased at Harrods by two young men and eventually brought to George Adamson when the animal got too rambunctious for a London flat.
Even while reading about the daily walks with Christian and the other lions, lying with them by the river, hugging them, it's difficult to believe that this really happened. Admiration, awe, and perhaps a tiny bit of jealousy are what many readers will feel upon reading about the many adventures and the many animals.
The story centers primarily on the animals that Tony loved and eventually lost. And most of them are lost in the most heartbreaking of ways--so be prepared.
Though he is a man without a steady income, no pension plan, and not even an automobile he can call his own, Tony Fitzjohn has managed to befriend the influential, the rich, and the famous. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth, traveled around the world fundraising for his wildlife sanctuaries, and hobnobbed with famous actors.
Yet he tells his story with no pretension, and the end result is that one feels as if, by the end of the story, Tony's story is our own--he has made the reader a part of what he experienced, and described it so clearly, so movingly, the reader will feel as if he or she were there.
The first half of the book details Tony's life with George Adamson and the many lions they reintroduced into the wild. There are problems with poachers, with government officials, and with lions occasionally trying to eat them, but they manage to keep on with their mission. And it's never their lions who want to eat them.
The second half of the book is about Tony's life after George. He moves to Tanzania and starts a program to reintroduce rhinocerouses back into the wild. There were none left in their native Tanzania when Tony imported four from South Africa.
What the reader will remember is that no matter the obstacles, Tony Fitzjohn didn't give up. And the animals in Africa are the better for it--as are we all.
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