7 Lions rescued from private owners and zoo’s in Ukraine.

Mission Accomplished… Lion Rescue #4

This was an extremely difficult and lengthy rescue/relocation for 3 of the 7 lions taking 26 months to eventually get them on a flight out of Ukraine.
Before we tell their story we must send a huge THANK YOU to QATAR Cargo & Airways for sponsoring this flight to bring these cats home.

AKERA, NALA, ALEX & CAESAR
These 4 arrived in South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport on the 28th April 2021 and then had to endure another 14 hour road trip to our sanctuary at Simbonga in the Eastern Cape arriving at 00.30am. The cats were then put into their night shelters to give them a little time to adjust to their surroundings. Can you imagine the stress that could be caused by just letting them go into an unfamiliar area after being locked up in small cages for months and even years. Alex, Nala & Caesar share an enclosure and night shelter and to see them show the love for each other after being separated for 85 hours while being relocated was unbelievable. They were immediately watered and fed and given a visual inspection by our vet. Akera was not interested in anything around her and was the first to be fast asleep, clearly happy and feeling safe in her new surroundings.
At 09.00am on the 29th April 2021 we opened the night shelter gates so they could venture out at their own pace. It was amazing to see Nala, Alex & Caesars reactions as they had never experienced the feel of grass or even soil beneath their paws. It did not take long and they were all having the time of their lives. Akera was a little quieter than the other 3 but settled in nicely and explored every inch of her camp. Seeing these 4 at the sanctuary and enjoying the open space and “freedom” was the best feeling ever as we had overcome huge odds with everything stacked against us getting these lions home and into our sanctuary.
As we are 100% against breeding, Akera and Nala were sterilized on the 6th June 2021 and hopefully before long we can introduce Akera to the other 3. They currently share a fence-line and show much interest in other but we need to be as sure as we can be that there will be no mishaps when introducing them.
       ALEX & CAESAR are the most handsome of brothers. They were born at a private zoo where their future was uncertain. We are so happy to be able to give them a furever home TOGETHER and free of a what would have been a certain life of exploitation. A brother’s bond is something that can never be replaced.
       NALA was also being kept as pet. Her human family had seen her and thought that by buying her as a cub, would be helping her. Her owners loved her dearly but quickly realized that living in a human home would never be enough for Nala. They often now share with their friends how getting involved with someone who trades and breeds these animals is NOT a good idea, and keeping wild animals as pets should never be sought out. Being naturally Pride oriented, but never living with another lion before since she was born, she happily accepted the love and affection of our two boys, Alex and Caesar, when we were able to introduce them to one another at the holding facility in Ukraine.
       AKERA was being kept in someone’s backyard as a personal pet. When her owners moved, they abandoned her. She was only to be found by the new home owners when they arrived days later. She had been left in a backyard cage with no food, lack of appropriate shelter, water engulfed in algae, and the ground covered in excrement. No one knows when she had eaten last and what would have happened to her if we did not immediately take her in.

CECIL, XANDA & JOY
These 4 arrived in South Africa at OR Tambo International Airport on the 28th April 2021.
In December 2018 while doing our lion relocation Nathan, Charlie, Kai and Luca we received a call from the Ministry of Ecology asking us if we could assist is the rescue and confiscation and then eventual relocation of 6 lions and 11 bears from a private “zoo” in Pokrovsk, Ukraine. 2 days after we flew back to Ukraine from South Africa on the 14 Dec 2018 we met with officials from the Ministry of Ecology and other animal welfare organizations to decide what could be done and how.
This is where this very difficult and frustrating saga began for Luke, Cecil, Xanda and Joy.
Luke was very lucky as Anya found a document that she was able to use to get Luke relocated earlier than the others which meant him not having to endure the lengthy court case, bureaucracy and delays that were to come.
In January 2019, the Ministry of Environment and Natural resources made the decision that the lions and bears were to be removed from the “Pokrovsk Zoo” and relocated to a private zoo selected by the Ministry where they were to be kept temporarily while the legal process was followed to get them officially confiscated from their owner. We had no choice as to where the lions and bears would be kept and that too caused issues as it was a 4.5 hour drive each way to visit them so we had to trust that they were being cared for and fed the correct diet. We were all under the impression it would be quick and we could relocate the lions to South Africa and the bears would go off to other sanctuaries within a few months. That did not happen and the legal proceedings were only finalized in August 2020 one month after our proposed relocation flight date and added to that we were now in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic which resulted in even more delays. Only in August 2020 could we start applying for CITES Export/Import permits and only once these permits were issued could the South African VET Import Health Certificate be applied for which then also caused further delays because of changes to the document because we needed official translations done which had to be approved by both South African and Ukrainian veterinary departments. There were a couple of changes made to the document and now it also included COVID testing for the lions prior to them being able to fly.
When we put together the project for the relocation of Cecil, Xanda and Joy it was planned to have them flown out by July 2020 but we only arrived in South Africa with them on the 28th April 2021. These 3 now live in a sanctuary in the Free State.

For us to continue this work we need your support.
Please share our work and if you can HELP US TO HELP THE ANIMALS please DONATE HERE at www.warriorsofwildlife.org/donations
There is much more to this story. I will update with very interesting details soon. Please check back.