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Born Free Foundation Lions Statues The Downs Bristol

July 15, 2022July 23, 2022

A series of strikingly beautiful bronze lions are currently being displayed on The Downs in Bristol. It’s part of the Born Free Foundation’s celebration of Year of the Lion. If the animals seem familiar, it’s because they were immortalised in the 1966 movie Born Free, starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers – along with Elsa the Lion.

But there’s an important message behind the exhibition.

Current studies predict lions could become extinct across most of their wild range in less than 30 years. Numbers of the animals in the wild have plummeted by 90 per cent since the 1960s.

The event is entitled Born Free Forever and has been created by Australian artists Gillie and Marc.

Co-Founder & Trustee of Born Free, Virginia McKenna said: “Please visit this incredible exhibition of these individual lions. These real lions mean so much to Born Free. Each has its own unique and powerful story. Through those individual stories, visitors will learn so much about lions that they could never learn through watching them in captivity.

The lions will be on The Downs in Bristol until September 2022 and can be found on Circular Road.

For more information about the event, visit: https://www.bornfree.org.uk/born-free-forever/