Wildlife Heroes: stories of courage, care and conservation
Prepare to be inspired! Our thought-provoking new series of short films shines a light on some inspirational people who dedicate their lives to wildlife. Head of Comms & PR, Amanda Poole-Connor, reports.
When I first travelled to Born Free’s field projects in 2021, to collect films, images and stories to share with you, our supporters, I thought I understood what our work meant. But being there – in Kenya, Ethiopia and South Africa – changed me completely. I saw the extraordinary commitment of the people who dedicate their lives to protecting, rescuing and caring for wild animals, and I witnessed the courage of communities living alongside wildlife, often at great personal cost. That experience inspired me to create Wildlife Heroes, a short film series I hope will allow you to see this work as I did.
Amanda Poole-Connor, Head of Comms & PR
Each seven-to-eight-minute film is a lens into the heart of Born Free’s mission. I want you to understand why we work so closely with people in communities who live next to elephants, lions, giraffes and more. I want you to see why we rescue wild animals suffering in captivity, and why we provide lifelong sanctuary for lions, leopards, cheetahs and other animals who cannot return to the wild.
Most of all, I want you to meet the people. These films introduce you to colleagues and community members whose lives are bound up with wildlife every single day. They face immense challenges – from conflict with wild animals, shrinking habitats and climate change, to the relentless physical and emotional demands of rescue and care. Yet these remarkable people carry on, often making huge personal sacrifices, because they truly believe every individual animal matters.
What moved me most during filming was the honesty of their voices. Nothing here is scripted or staged. These are authentic testimonies, beautifully shot in the landscapes where our work takes place. They reveal not only the difficulties but also the hope – hope grounded in compassion, resilience, and an unwavering belief that wildlife belongs in the wild.
For me, Wildlife Heroes is about connection. I want our supporters to feel closer to the work we do, to the animals whose lives we fight for, and to the people who dedicate themselves to this cause. By sharing these stories, I hope you gain a deeper understanding of why this work matters – not just for wildlife, but for the people whose lives are intertwined with theirs.
Above all, I hope Wildlife Heroes inspires you, as it inspired me. Protecting wildlife is not just about species and numbers – it’s about individuals, human and animal alike, and about building a shared future worth believing in.
You can watch the trailer for the Wildlife Heroes series below, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel ready for the series premiere on Thursday 25th September.
With huge thanks to Leakey Studios, whose wonderful production brought our heroes’ stories to life.
The full series of Wildlife Heroes films will be published at bornfree.org.uk/heroes, as they are released each week.