HISTORY OF THE
WILLIAM HOLDEN WILDLIFE FOUNDATION

 to go after the “Big 5” prize (elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo), and so Bill and his two friends, one American and one Swiss, were in East Africa for many weeks. It was also the time of the Mau Mau, the freedom fighters of the Kikuyu tribe who fought the war of independence. The Mau Mau hid in the mountain forests of the Abadares and Mt. Kenya – which was also the place where upcountry inns were located. The inns provided hunters with a place to “repair” for a few days while their camp was moved to a new hunting block, but were now empty of clients.

There was one inn that was the favorite “repairing” spot for Bill and his pals and by some quirk of fate it was for sale! After many drinks and lots of dreams the three bought the inn and turned it into the Mt. Kenya Safari Club. “The Club” was a watering hole for the glitterati and crowned heads of the 1950’s and 1960’s, and the hotel’s “gold book” was a veritable “Who’s Who” of that decade.

The club is located on the equator at 7000 feet above sea level on the slopes of Mt. Kenya which towers above the gardens and forests beyond the club. The view from the veranda bar alone is worth the trip. The inn was transformed into what became the most beautiful hotel in East Africa. The roughly 65 acres of grounds that comprised the Safari Club were surrounded by a 2000 acre mixed farm owned by a retired major in the British army. When the land came up for sale in 1960 it was a turning point in Bill’s life and in the life of a young American named Don Hunt.

Don Hunt was associated with animals for most of his life at the time when he came to East Africa to film some episodes for his successful U.S. children’s TV show called Bwana Don. He too was captivated by a fascination for all things East African, but most of all, he and Bill cemented their relationship through their love of nature and the extraordinary wildlife in their midst. As kindred spirits, they shared their concern for the herds of animals whose numbers were beginning to diminish, however subtly. What began as an ongoing discussion became a reality when the major’s land came up for sale and the Mount Kenya Game Ranch was born.

It is important to remember that conservation, preservation, and even the concept of “ecology” were ideas that would only become popular vernacular many years after the creation of the Mount Kenya Game Ranch. Green movements in the US and the UK brought wildlife conservation awareness to the world through tee shirts bearing the face of a baby seal that came onto our streets and into our lives.

Bill and Don were joined by Julian McKeand, then a professional hunter and Iris Breidenbend, who became Iris Hunt. Together they created a game ranch with captive breeding programs of 37 East African species and an animal orphanage where Iris has raised generations of rescued orphans, sometimes bringing them back to health from the brink of death.

One of the most rare species on the game ranch is the East African bongo (a shy medium sized forest dwelling antelope). The partners made the bongo the symbol of the game ranch and its logo.

Throughout his life, William Holden continued his wholehearted support of the game ranch and often referred to it as the greatest work of his life, over and above all of his films. William Holden’s untimely death in 1981 brought his life to an end but not his work. In 1973 William Holden brought another person into his life and into his dream, Stefanie Powers, who was swept up by Bill’s contagious enthusiasm for Africa and together with the Hunts, formed the William Holden Wildlife Foundation to carry out the unfinished work and carry on with the dream.