orig. Joy-Friederike Victoria Gessner
born Jan. 20, 1910, Troppau, Silesia, Austria-Hungary
died Jan. 3, 1980, Shaba National Reserve, Kenya
Czech-born British naturalist.
Educated in Vienna, she moved to Kenya in 1939. She became known worldwide for books describing how she and her husband, George, raised a lion cub, Elsa, and returned it to its natural habitat: Born Free (1960), Living Free (1961), and Forever Free (1962). The books were adapted into two films. She later repeated her rehabilitation success with cheetah and leopard cubs. In addition to writing other books, she founded the Elsa Wild Animal Appeal (1961), an international conservation fund. She was killed by a disgruntled employee.