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Pippa #1 of 3
Spotted Sphinx
Recounts the unusual friendship that developed between the author and a domesticated cheetah she tried to retrain to freedom in the Kenyan bush
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1969
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March 29, 2020
With the release of a new documentary film this year 2020, entitled The Spotted Sphinx, it seems a good time to reappraise Joy Adamson’s seminal book from 1969.
The Spotted Sphinx describes itself as a biographical feature film: an entertaining drama-documentary designed to reach the everyday person, as well as the committed conservationist. All profits are to go to cheetah conservation projects. This is now sorely needed, with the current estimate of just 7000 of these magnificent but “impossible” animals left in the wild.
Ironically enough, our interest in these creatures has contributed to their decline. As a nature enthusiast, it is tempting to point the finger of blame to the organised and carefully choreographed big game hunting trips, so favoured by millionaires who wish to look brave (and about which my feelings run so high that I promise not to mention them again here). But if you were give the chance to go and observe cheetahs and other rare animals in the wild, perhaps even to photograph them, wouldn’t you do so? I suspect for many people the only thing stopping them is the expense, and practicalities such as work, family commitments, or health issues. Others, apparently luckier, find that yes, they can make this dream come true. Ecotourism is now a big attraction.
Yet as much as thirty years ago Desmond Morris was pointing out the down side. So many people wanted to go and observe the baby cheetahs, that the mother would be forced to hunt for food for them at night. Since the cheetah’s natural time for hunting is the day time, they simply could not kill enough prey. Result, fewer cheetahs - because we want to be able to see them! Ecotourism is beset with problems of this nature.
But flash back even further another 20 plus years to 1969, and very little was known about cheetahs at all. Joy Adamson had stunned the world with her three books about the lioness Elsa, whom she and her husband had rescued as an orphaned cub, raised, and eventually returned to the wild. The process was not easy, and the story was full of heartbreaking moments. Eventually though, Elsa’s reintegration was so successful that she had cubs, whom she brought back to show Joy Adamson.
But Else herself and the final book about her was in 1962. Joy Adamson had learned a phenomenal amount about lions’ behaviour, and passed it onto the world in the hope of educating us and conserving these magnificent creatures and their environment. Her books were enormously successful, as was the film of “Born Free” which was released in 1966. It was perhaps the first time that many people could see that wild animals were not unintelligent, driven merely by instinct, and only good to be shot for sport. Each had their own distinct personality; was an individual sentient creature. It is not much of a step to believe that animals too have personal lives, maybe even hopes and dreams. Joy Adamson had become the first conservation celebrity in the world. She wanted now, to do the same for other big cats.
During the making of Born Free in 1964, Joy learned of a pet cheetah just eight months old, who was living with a family in the “New Stanley Hotel” in Nairobi, Kenya. “Pippa” was quite a celebrity, sitting on a stool in the restaurant: “her golden eyes watching intently everything that was going on”.
Pippa at 8 months
On October 17th 1964 Joy Adamson saw this extraordinary domesticated female cheetah for herself, and instantly fell in love with this remarkable animal. The family were moving back to England, but wanted Pippa to remain in Kenya, so were happy for Joy Adamson to adopt her. Although cheetahs are the easiest of all wild cats to tame, little was known about their habits in the wild at that time. Joy Adamson decided to conduct another experiment to prove that animals could be rehabilitated back into the native environment.
Joy and Pippa then spent the next 5 years in a remote Kenyan campsite, where Joy recorded the incredible story of Pippa’s reintroduction to the wild, just as she had done for Elsa. This first book, The Spotted Sphinx was to be followed three years later in 1972 by “Pippa’s Challenge”.
It was not to be an easy challenge, nor a repetition of Elsa’s story. Cheetahs are very different. For a start, they are half feline and half canine, in that they combine characteristics of both. Listening to one bark, this is evident, as is observing a cheetah’s doglike position when seated, or the fact that it cannot retract its claws like a cat. A cheetah is the fastest mammal in the world, and can run (for a short distance) up to an incredible 75 miles per hour. They are five times better at hunting than a lion, because they can scan their prey’s energy field, to decide on their next move.
And remember at the start I referred to them as “impossible” animals? This was not mere hyperbole, but based on scientific fact. The cheetah is not an “impossible animal” because it is rare, or elusive, but because all cheetahs are virtually genetically identical. In a natural world, cheetahs should not exist - but they do. The cheetah is a unique, “impossible cat”, and the first known fossils have been found to date from between 2.2 million and 2.5 million years ago.
Joy Adamson would need immense patience, understanding and endurance, all of which we read about in The Spotted Sphinx. But she kept her eye focussed on the target, whilst patiently recording day to day progress, both for the scientific community, and her general readers. Gradually Pippa began to absent herself from camp, first for short periods, and then for longer ones. She knew where she could get food from, and so often returned to the camp when she had not made a kill. Whenever this happened she was just as affectionate with Joy as she had always been:
Pippa with Joy Adamson
The story of The Spotted Sphinx reads like dramatic fiction, in some ways. There are terrifying floods, alarming bush fires, and the ever-present threat of bandits. To carry on with her project, Joy Adamson needed to make long daily treks; often in the hottest part of the day, and always burdened with heavy loads. She had to be constantly aware that at any time there could be a stampede of elephants, or a lioness might have her in their eyes as possible prey.
Eventually Pippa did mate with a wild cheetah. The experiment had succeeded. In a strange repetition of Elsa’s behaviour, when Pippa had given birth, she led Joy Adamson to her cubs, to see this first litter:
Pippa and one of her litters
But the life of any wild animal is harsh, and cheetah cubs are just as vulnerable as any. Pippa had three litters during Joy Adamson’s observations - eleven cubs in all. Yet every single cub save three was to die. Even one of those three only survived because of medical care, after a leg injury. And this was a constant theme, about which Joy Adamson had to wrestle with her conscience. At what point, if any, should she intervene to help the cheetahs, if they were sick or hungry? Wouldn’t this jeopardise her ultimate aim to reintroduce them to the wild?
This book follow the first three years, when Joy Adamson was observing Pippa and her young. It is as detailed and scientifically observed as the books about Elsa, and just as absorbing to read. Plus of course, she was in a unique position to observe and record the differences between the two species.
Joy Adamson always felt that she never really got inside the mind of a cheetah, describing Pippa as “elegant, affectionate and enigmatic” and that is why she gave this book its title: The Spotted Sphinx. In her closing remarks, Joy Adamson stated her intention to carry on her investigations with Pippa’s descendants:
“But I knew that, whatever happened, I would never be able to fully comprehend the character of my lovable but aloof friend who, for me, would always remain a spotted sphinx.”
Pippa on Down Palm
If you enjoyed “Born Free” and its sequels, you will find this account equally fascinating and satisfying. I can recommend trying to get hold of this first edition from 1969 if you can, rather than any of the later, smaller editions. It is printed in Collins’ clear-type press, on the same fine quality heavy paper as before, in a matching size. There are maps of the area inside the front and back covers, and there is an appendix at the back, which not only records medical treatments and nutritious supplements Joy Adamson had discovered to be effective, but also a comparison table of the different habits and behaviour of leopards, lions and cheetahs.
Best of all, for me personally, is that it is heavily illustrated. As part of her ambitious project, Joy Adamson took hundreds of photographs, and included here are 64 pages of black and white photographs, in clusters of glossy paper throughout the book, either two to a page or full page shots. There are also twelve colour plates. They cover Pippa in every mood imaginable, plus some with people, with Joy or her game warden husband George, or one of the Kenyan staff, usually Joseph, Stanley or Local. Perhaps there should be no room for sentiment in a scientific record, yet still you may feel as I do, a pang, when you see the many shots of all the cubs, who were not destined to make it to adulthood.
Joy Adamson had the remarkable gift of writing groundbreaking books expanding our knowledge about specific wild animals, and making them accessible and absorbing to a general reader too.
The Spotted Sphinx describes itself as a biographical feature film: an entertaining drama-documentary designed to reach the everyday person, as well as the committed conservationist. All profits are to go to cheetah conservation projects. This is now sorely needed, with the current estimate of just 7000 of these magnificent but “impossible” animals left in the wild.
Ironically enough, our interest in these creatures has contributed to their decline. As a nature enthusiast, it is tempting to point the finger of blame to the organised and carefully choreographed big game hunting trips, so favoured by millionaires who wish to look brave (and about which my feelings run so high that I promise not to mention them again here). But if you were give the chance to go and observe cheetahs and other rare animals in the wild, perhaps even to photograph them, wouldn’t you do so? I suspect for many people the only thing stopping them is the expense, and practicalities such as work, family commitments, or health issues. Others, apparently luckier, find that yes, they can make this dream come true. Ecotourism is now a big attraction.
Yet as much as thirty years ago Desmond Morris was pointing out the down side. So many people wanted to go and observe the baby cheetahs, that the mother would be forced to hunt for food for them at night. Since the cheetah’s natural time for hunting is the day time, they simply could not kill enough prey. Result, fewer cheetahs - because we want to be able to see them! Ecotourism is beset with problems of this nature.
But flash back even further another 20 plus years to 1969, and very little was known about cheetahs at all. Joy Adamson had stunned the world with her three books about the lioness Elsa, whom she and her husband had rescued as an orphaned cub, raised, and eventually returned to the wild. The process was not easy, and the story was full of heartbreaking moments. Eventually though, Elsa’s reintegration was so successful that she had cubs, whom she brought back to show Joy Adamson.
But Else herself and the final book about her was in 1962. Joy Adamson had learned a phenomenal amount about lions’ behaviour, and passed it onto the world in the hope of educating us and conserving these magnificent creatures and their environment. Her books were enormously successful, as was the film of “Born Free” which was released in 1966. It was perhaps the first time that many people could see that wild animals were not unintelligent, driven merely by instinct, and only good to be shot for sport. Each had their own distinct personality; was an individual sentient creature. It is not much of a step to believe that animals too have personal lives, maybe even hopes and dreams. Joy Adamson had become the first conservation celebrity in the world. She wanted now, to do the same for other big cats.
During the making of Born Free in 1964, Joy learned of a pet cheetah just eight months old, who was living with a family in the “New Stanley Hotel” in Nairobi, Kenya. “Pippa” was quite a celebrity, sitting on a stool in the restaurant: “her golden eyes watching intently everything that was going on”.
Pippa at 8 months
On October 17th 1964 Joy Adamson saw this extraordinary domesticated female cheetah for herself, and instantly fell in love with this remarkable animal. The family were moving back to England, but wanted Pippa to remain in Kenya, so were happy for Joy Adamson to adopt her. Although cheetahs are the easiest of all wild cats to tame, little was known about their habits in the wild at that time. Joy Adamson decided to conduct another experiment to prove that animals could be rehabilitated back into the native environment.
Joy and Pippa then spent the next 5 years in a remote Kenyan campsite, where Joy recorded the incredible story of Pippa’s reintroduction to the wild, just as she had done for Elsa. This first book, The Spotted Sphinx was to be followed three years later in 1972 by “Pippa’s Challenge”.
It was not to be an easy challenge, nor a repetition of Elsa’s story. Cheetahs are very different. For a start, they are half feline and half canine, in that they combine characteristics of both. Listening to one bark, this is evident, as is observing a cheetah’s doglike position when seated, or the fact that it cannot retract its claws like a cat. A cheetah is the fastest mammal in the world, and can run (for a short distance) up to an incredible 75 miles per hour. They are five times better at hunting than a lion, because they can scan their prey’s energy field, to decide on their next move.
And remember at the start I referred to them as “impossible” animals? This was not mere hyperbole, but based on scientific fact. The cheetah is not an “impossible animal” because it is rare, or elusive, but because all cheetahs are virtually genetically identical. In a natural world, cheetahs should not exist - but they do. The cheetah is a unique, “impossible cat”, and the first known fossils have been found to date from between 2.2 million and 2.5 million years ago.
Joy Adamson would need immense patience, understanding and endurance, all of which we read about in The Spotted Sphinx. But she kept her eye focussed on the target, whilst patiently recording day to day progress, both for the scientific community, and her general readers. Gradually Pippa began to absent herself from camp, first for short periods, and then for longer ones. She knew where she could get food from, and so often returned to the camp when she had not made a kill. Whenever this happened she was just as affectionate with Joy as she had always been:
Pippa with Joy Adamson
The story of The Spotted Sphinx reads like dramatic fiction, in some ways. There are terrifying floods, alarming bush fires, and the ever-present threat of bandits. To carry on with her project, Joy Adamson needed to make long daily treks; often in the hottest part of the day, and always burdened with heavy loads. She had to be constantly aware that at any time there could be a stampede of elephants, or a lioness might have her in their eyes as possible prey.
Eventually Pippa did mate with a wild cheetah. The experiment had succeeded. In a strange repetition of Elsa’s behaviour, when Pippa had given birth, she led Joy Adamson to her cubs, to see this first litter:
Pippa and one of her litters
But the life of any wild animal is harsh, and cheetah cubs are just as vulnerable as any. Pippa had three litters during Joy Adamson’s observations - eleven cubs in all. Yet every single cub save three was to die. Even one of those three only survived because of medical care, after a leg injury. And this was a constant theme, about which Joy Adamson had to wrestle with her conscience. At what point, if any, should she intervene to help the cheetahs, if they were sick or hungry? Wouldn’t this jeopardise her ultimate aim to reintroduce them to the wild?
This book follow the first three years, when Joy Adamson was observing Pippa and her young. It is as detailed and scientifically observed as the books about Elsa, and just as absorbing to read. Plus of course, she was in a unique position to observe and record the differences between the two species.
Joy Adamson always felt that she never really got inside the mind of a cheetah, describing Pippa as “elegant, affectionate and enigmatic” and that is why she gave this book its title: The Spotted Sphinx. In her closing remarks, Joy Adamson stated her intention to carry on her investigations with Pippa’s descendants:
“But I knew that, whatever happened, I would never be able to fully comprehend the character of my lovable but aloof friend who, for me, would always remain a spotted sphinx.”
Pippa on Down Palm
If you enjoyed “Born Free” and its sequels, you will find this account equally fascinating and satisfying. I can recommend trying to get hold of this first edition from 1969 if you can, rather than any of the later, smaller editions. It is printed in Collins’ clear-type press, on the same fine quality heavy paper as before, in a matching size. There are maps of the area inside the front and back covers, and there is an appendix at the back, which not only records medical treatments and nutritious supplements Joy Adamson had discovered to be effective, but also a comparison table of the different habits and behaviour of leopards, lions and cheetahs.
Best of all, for me personally, is that it is heavily illustrated. As part of her ambitious project, Joy Adamson took hundreds of photographs, and included here are 64 pages of black and white photographs, in clusters of glossy paper throughout the book, either two to a page or full page shots. There are also twelve colour plates. They cover Pippa in every mood imaginable, plus some with people, with Joy or her game warden husband George, or one of the Kenyan staff, usually Joseph, Stanley or Local. Perhaps there should be no room for sentiment in a scientific record, yet still you may feel as I do, a pang, when you see the many shots of all the cubs, who were not destined to make it to adulthood.
Joy Adamson had the remarkable gift of writing groundbreaking books expanding our knowledge about specific wild animals, and making them accessible and absorbing to a general reader too.
February 7, 2017
Interesting perspectives; fascinating insight into lives of the cats and author's daily existence in the "wild" … I became aware how dangerously we are separating ourselves from the wild life around us and how many people today seem to forget that we are only part of a world much bigger than the one we are trying to control….pg 110
October 11, 2019
"И колкото по-дълго живеех в този свят, по-ясно ми ставаше колко опасно беше нашето отделяне от живота на дивата природа, която ни заобикаля, и колко много хора днес, изглежда, забравят, че ние сме само малка частица от един свят, много по-необятен от този, който се опитваме да контролираме и управляваме. Странно е да се помисли, че човек се опитва да обуздава вечните закони на природата, вместо да се приспособи към тях. Човекът е интелектуално най-развитото и най-напредналото същество от всички живи организми на Земята и при все това той е единственият, който безмилостно нарушава равновесието в природата, като насочва постиженията си главно към собственото си благополучие. Макар че научните изследвания ясно показват, че целият живот на Земята е екологично свързан и че съществува тясна взаимна връзка между всички живи организми, ние разрушаваме всичко, което ни се струва, че пречи на нашето собствено удобство. Като правим това, ние вероятно ще унищожим и самите себе си. Но как да разрешим този въпрос, който става все по-належащ?"
December 10, 2014
I read this (or at least parts of it) when I was about 8-9 years old (in translation of course); I guess this was the very first "adult" book I've ever read. Loved it and revisited it several times in my teen years.
April 14, 2013
I touched this book when I was really young, was a bookworm as a child. It left a mark in my soul. The story takes you, becomes part of you, and at the end you are one with the wild. I would recommend it to anyone who loves animals, adventure, real life stories.
September 22, 2020
4.5 stars.
I love cheetahs and it was so cool to learn about Pippa being reintroduced into the wild. There was several sad parts in this book, and some failed attempts at saving some animal species but every little accomplishment was satisfying.
This woman was ahead of her times. She was already noticing and predicting how we are changing the environment and making it harder for the animals to survive. They all already face enough hardships without us adding to it. We must all work to preserve the beautiful creatures that inhabit our earth.
“Since we humans have the better brain, isn’t it our responsibility to protect our fellow creatures from, oddly enough, ourselves?”
- Joy Adamson
It is our responsibility.
I love cheetahs and it was so cool to learn about Pippa being reintroduced into the wild. There was several sad parts in this book, and some failed attempts at saving some animal species but every little accomplishment was satisfying.
This woman was ahead of her times. She was already noticing and predicting how we are changing the environment and making it harder for the animals to survive. They all already face enough hardships without us adding to it. We must all work to preserve the beautiful creatures that inhabit our earth.
“Since we humans have the better brain, isn’t it our responsibility to protect our fellow creatures from, oddly enough, ourselves?”
- Joy Adamson
It is our responsibility.
August 25, 2024
Unfortunately, I thought this book might have centered more on cheetah natural history, but it's more of a memoir with cheetahs.
Cheetahs are amazing and it stuns me how vulnerable they are even outside of human interference. They're like pandas, so uber-specialized that they've almost gone over the edge of being a viable species. They are an animal that I would actually prefer to be in sanctuaries of some sort because their life in the wild is just so damned perilous. I'm a rabid 😏 lover of all cats, but I hold a special animosity in my heart towards lions because they will intentionally kill cheetah cubs.
Anyway, even giving this book the required leeway for the time period (my childhood lands smack in the range of the targeted population for all things Elsa, as in Elsa the Lion, not that other Elsa), the author's actions seem so misguided and sometimes downright wrong. I couldn't fathom how she would equate daily (if possible) supplemental feeding with adult animals as being a step towards rewilding . . . especially if those supplemental feedings went on for years. Not to mention all the medical and nutritional intervention. (It kills me to find out that cheetahs are so apt to have inherent medical issues like rickets.) You have to know that there were times when Pippa probably would not have survived without all the intervention, and she definitely had cubs that wouldn't have made it to adulthood without the author's assistance. To be completely clear: I certainly don't advocate in any way, shape or form for steps (or the lack thereof) that would harm an animal - but that assistance shouldn't be confused with some grand notion of "rewilding".
I was actually appalled at a couple of points in the narrative, such as:
"Pippa had such an insatiable hunger that she often tore the meat out of the cubs' mouths. Finally, I got so angry at her selfishness that I hit her. It was the first time I had done this and she was as surprised as I was upset at having to punish her in this way."
There's so, so, SO much wrong here. To begin with, the anthropomorphizing of describing an animal's action as "selfishness". Animals don't have human level ulterior motives. If an adult female eats to the point where her cub(s) suffer from lack of nutrition, there is surely a developmental rationale -to me, this is like the airline attendant's instructions for adults to put on their oxygen masks first before assisting children with theirs - but again, that's anthropomorphizing. Still, it's pretty easy to understand that if the mother doesn't survive and the cubs aren't able to fend for themselves, then none of the cubs survive either. Even if it means losing a whole litter, because the adult can have future litters, and we have to realize that the sole purpose of procreation is to pass along the parent's genetic "legacy", whether that is good, bad, or indifferent.
Then I move on to the statement that the author "hit" Pippa. This is a wild animal, not a dog or a child. Regardless of whether one agrees with striking a pet or a child, there is no way in hell one can defend striking a wild animal because they don't behave the way a human wants them to (lion tamers, anyone??) This literally made me sick. You'd think that being such an obviously passionate (to the point of obsession sometimes) animal advocate like the author is would preclude any chance of such behavior. It's hard to read this and accept it even with the leeway one has to give due to the time period. One does not "punish" animals. Period.
There is another instance later on (I've lost my bookmark for it) where I recall the author mentioning "spanking" one or more cubs. Again, I just about lost it.
This was a really rough ride for me because it was a story of how an animal was helped by a well-meaning individual who clearly didn't have the skills or knowledge to do so in a manner that was appropriate when dealing with a wild creature. Again, leeway given for the time period, but still . . .
Despite my misgivings now that I've read it, I am fortunate enough to have a copy of the 1969 hardcover and will be keeping it in my permanent library if for no other reason than as history regarding human interactions with cheetahs.
Cheetahs are amazing and it stuns me how vulnerable they are even outside of human interference. They're like pandas, so uber-specialized that they've almost gone over the edge of being a viable species. They are an animal that I would actually prefer to be in sanctuaries of some sort because their life in the wild is just so damned perilous. I'm a rabid 😏 lover of all cats, but I hold a special animosity in my heart towards lions because they will intentionally kill cheetah cubs.
Anyway, even giving this book the required leeway for the time period (my childhood lands smack in the range of the targeted population for all things Elsa, as in Elsa the Lion, not that other Elsa), the author's actions seem so misguided and sometimes downright wrong. I couldn't fathom how she would equate daily (if possible) supplemental feeding with adult animals as being a step towards rewilding . . . especially if those supplemental feedings went on for years. Not to mention all the medical and nutritional intervention. (It kills me to find out that cheetahs are so apt to have inherent medical issues like rickets.) You have to know that there were times when Pippa probably would not have survived without all the intervention, and she definitely had cubs that wouldn't have made it to adulthood without the author's assistance. To be completely clear: I certainly don't advocate in any way, shape or form for steps (or the lack thereof) that would harm an animal - but that assistance shouldn't be confused with some grand notion of "rewilding".
I was actually appalled at a couple of points in the narrative, such as:
"Pippa had such an insatiable hunger that she often tore the meat out of the cubs' mouths. Finally, I got so angry at her selfishness that I hit her. It was the first time I had done this and she was as surprised as I was upset at having to punish her in this way."
There's so, so, SO much wrong here. To begin with, the anthropomorphizing of describing an animal's action as "selfishness". Animals don't have human level ulterior motives. If an adult female eats to the point where her cub(s) suffer from lack of nutrition, there is surely a developmental rationale -to me, this is like the airline attendant's instructions for adults to put on their oxygen masks first before assisting children with theirs - but again, that's anthropomorphizing. Still, it's pretty easy to understand that if the mother doesn't survive and the cubs aren't able to fend for themselves, then none of the cubs survive either. Even if it means losing a whole litter, because the adult can have future litters, and we have to realize that the sole purpose of procreation is to pass along the parent's genetic "legacy", whether that is good, bad, or indifferent.
Then I move on to the statement that the author "hit" Pippa. This is a wild animal, not a dog or a child. Regardless of whether one agrees with striking a pet or a child, there is no way in hell one can defend striking a wild animal because they don't behave the way a human wants them to (lion tamers, anyone??) This literally made me sick. You'd think that being such an obviously passionate (to the point of obsession sometimes) animal advocate like the author is would preclude any chance of such behavior. It's hard to read this and accept it even with the leeway one has to give due to the time period. One does not "punish" animals. Period.
There is another instance later on (I've lost my bookmark for it) where I recall the author mentioning "spanking" one or more cubs. Again, I just about lost it.
This was a really rough ride for me because it was a story of how an animal was helped by a well-meaning individual who clearly didn't have the skills or knowledge to do so in a manner that was appropriate when dealing with a wild creature. Again, leeway given for the time period, but still . . .
Despite my misgivings now that I've read it, I am fortunate enough to have a copy of the 1969 hardcover and will be keeping it in my permanent library if for no other reason than as history regarding human interactions with cheetahs.
October 15, 2023
I got lucky again in finding this old book in the very old guest house :)!!
Joy Adamson once again brings us an incredible true life story.
As with the lioness she has to teach a Cheetah how to live in the wild. The life lessons are hard but the bond these two share is amazing :)
Joy is god gifted in her writing skills when it comes to the wild animals. Her descriptive style, compassion for the animals in her care and her exquisite representation of the personalities of the animals she worked is very inspiring to say the least.
You have to read it if you love the wild and the animals :)
Joy Adamson once again brings us an incredible true life story.
As with the lioness she has to teach a Cheetah how to live in the wild. The life lessons are hard but the bond these two share is amazing :)
Joy is god gifted in her writing skills when it comes to the wild animals. Her descriptive style, compassion for the animals in her care and her exquisite representation of the personalities of the animals she worked is very inspiring to say the least.
You have to read it if you love the wild and the animals :)
abandoned
May 26, 2022Выпустить выращенного с людьми гепарда на волю в дикую природу — это определённо хорошее и очень интересное дело. Автор как раз рассказывает, как она занималась этим в Кении в 1960-х годах. Начало интересное: подготовка котёнка к жизни на воле, приучение её к охоте, постепенный уход из лагеря всё более длительное время. После этого как-то пошло одно и то же: Пиппа редко приходила в лагерь, питалась, уходила, у неё уже была своя семья и котята, и опять заново, так что стало скучновато.
June 24, 2022
I am desolate, I have finished this book and of course like all true stories, there is no ending.... of any kind. Thoroughly immersed in it, absolutely enjoyed it and now going to re-read the Elsa trilogy.
July 18, 2023
Interesting telling of how Joy rehabilitated a "pet" cheetah to become wild and free again in the 1960's.
July 6, 2024
The continuing story of Joy Adanson in regards to animals. This time she shares her experiences with a wild cheetah. Quite insightful.
September 16, 2025
An absolutely transformational read.
April 20, 2014
В пару к истории Эльсы - история Пиппы.
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Слушая тишину, изредка нарушаемую львиным рыком в отдалении, я раздумывала о том, почему мне никогда не приходилось чувствовать такой же душевный покой, живя среди людей. Может быть, близость к дикой природе приносила мне такое ощущение необъятности, вечности, что рядом с ним все остальное казалось мелким. Или причина в том, что мы слишком часто обманываем себя, придавая людям, которых любим, облик, созданный нашей фантазией, а потом сваливаем на них вину за собственное разочарование? И если некоторые из нас начинают любить животных больше, чем людей, то не потому ли, что на животных нельзя переносить человеческие свойства и в общении с ними ни самообман, ни разочарование нам не угрожают?
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Нам всегда хочется судить об уме животных по своим, человеческим понятиям. Это очень большая ошибка. У каждого вида развился тот ум, который оказался наиболее подходящим для него в борьбе за существование. То, что в определенных условиях животные ведут себя не так, как мы с вами, вовсе не говорит об их глупости — просто они руководствуются другими способами восприятия, которые нам неизвестны.
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Меня всегда удивляло то, что кошачьи не принимают во внимание более постоянные признаки, например запах, внешний вид или характерные движения близких к ним людей. Но, может быть, они так подозрительно относятся к незнакомой одежде просто потому, что сами-то никогда не меняют шкуру, не то что мы с нашими переодеваниями.
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Слушая тишину, изредка нарушаемую львиным рыком в отдалении, я раздумывала о том, почему мне никогда не приходилось чувствовать такой же душевный покой, живя среди людей. Может быть, близость к дикой природе приносила мне такое ощущение необъятности, вечности, что рядом с ним все остальное казалось мелким. Или причина в том, что мы слишком часто обманываем себя, придавая людям, которых любим, облик, созданный нашей фантазией, а потом сваливаем на них вину за собственное разочарование? И если некоторые из нас начинают любить животных больше, чем людей, то не потому ли, что на животных нельзя переносить человеческие свойства и в общении с ними ни самообман, ни разочарование нам не угрожают?
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Нам всегда хочется судить об уме животных по своим, человеческим понятиям. Это очень большая ошибка. У каждого вида развился тот ум, который оказался наиболее подходящим для него в борьбе за существование. То, что в определенных условиях животные ведут себя не так, как мы с вами, вовсе не говорит об их глупости — просто они руководствуются другими способами восприятия, которые нам неизвестны.
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Меня всегда удивляло то, что кошачьи не принимают во внимание более постоянные признаки, например запах, внешний вид или характерные движения близких к ним людей. Но, может быть, они так подозрительно относятся к незнакомой одежде просто потому, что сами-то никогда не меняют шкуру, не то что мы с нашими переодеваниями.
July 21, 2014
Pippa was a cheetah reared by a person living in Africa and given to Joy Adamson when she grew quite large. Her name was originally Kitten but Joy changed it, as shouting Pippa would carry better over large areas.
We get to understand that while Joy wanted Pippa to live free, the small, light cheetah is below lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs in the pecking order and often its prey gets away. So even their sprinting speed may not provide a meal. The prey has to be small enough for one cheetah to bring it down without crushing itself.
This is a detailed account and conveys a good impression of Joy and her husband's life.
We get to understand that while Joy wanted Pippa to live free, the small, light cheetah is below lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs in the pecking order and often its prey gets away. So even their sprinting speed may not provide a meal. The prey has to be small enough for one cheetah to bring it down without crushing itself.
This is a detailed account and conveys a good impression of Joy and her husband's life.
August 3, 2016
I went through a Joy Adamson phase after seeing a film based on "Born Free" while visiting my great-aunt, who had cable TV. Of all her books, I enjoyed her Pippa stories most.
July 11, 2018
Príbeh Joy a ďalšej veľkej mačky. Mapky, fotografie, like it!
September 14, 2008
Animals have their own personalities and interesting way of living in this world.
August 30, 2011
I think the book is one of the best i have ever read.Joy Adamson is a great author.
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