Five lions traumatised by war in Ukraine settle in to their 'forever home' at UK sanctuary
ADVERTISEMENT
One malnourished lioness had spent her life confined to an apartment. Another was so shell-shocked she could barely walk.
They are among five traumatised lions rescued from the war zone in Ukraine who are settling into a new home in England after an international effort to bring them to safety.
Male African lion Rori and lionesses Amani, Lira and Vanda arrived this month at the Big Cat Sanctuary after a 12-hour journey by road and ferry from temporary homes at zoos and animal shelters in Belgium.
They join lioness Yuna, who arrived in August, at the sanctuary's new Lion Rescue Centre, which officially opened on Tuesday, 25 March.
Why were the lions in Ukraine?
All five were found near the front line in
Ukraine's war against Russian invasion
, neglected and abandoned by their owners.
'All of these five lions were originally from the
illegal pet trade and wildlife trade
,' said Cameron Whitnall, managing director of the Big Cat Sanctuary near Ashford, about 80 kilometers southeast of London. 'None of them came from zoos.'
Related
World Wildlife Day: Conservationists say green corridors can help animals thrive in Kenya
From 'the cat lady of Gaza' to West Bank vets: What frontline animal aid looks like in Palestine
Yuna was kept in a small brick cell and was shellshocked after missile debris fell near her enclosure. Rori was mistreated in a private menagerie, while sanctuary staff believe siblings Amani and Lira were bred to have their photos taken with tourists as cubs.
Cameron Whitnall feeds Yuna at The Big Cat Sanctuary, near Ashford in Kent, England.
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Vanda, kept inside an apartment, was malnourished and infested with parasites.
Whitnall says that in her new home, Vanda, like the others, can 'become the lion she deserves to be.'
The lions were saved by the Wild Animals Rescue Centre, run by Natalia Popova, a Ukrainian woman who has saved hundreds of
abandoned pets
and zoo animals since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Rori a lion rescued from Ukraine settles into his new forever home.
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
Lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, deer, monkeys and more have passed through her shelter, a converted horse stable near Kyiv.
Hundreds have been sent abroad for treatment and recovery. Whitnall was determined to bring the five lions to Britain, even though the sanctuary had nowhere to put them.
A fundraising campaign launched in May 2024 raised more than £500,000 (€598,360) to cover the costs of transportation, veterinary care and building a new home for the cats.
How are the lions adapting to life at the sanctuary?
Staff say they are adapting well to their enclosures, which have been designed around each lion's individual needs.
Yuna and Rori, who have coordination issues, got gently landscaped environments where they can't fall from a height, while sisters Amani and Lira have trees to climb. Vanda, the most playful and confident of the lions, has an enclosure that includes a water feature.
ADVERTISEMENT
Lion sisters Amani and Lira settle into their new forever home at The Big Cat Sanctuary near Ashford in Kent, England.
AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth
'I'm sure it's a bit of a journey. We've got more to do, but they are taking everything so incredibly well,' said curator Briony Smith, who looks after the animals. 'You can already tell that there is improvement in their care and their welfare and the way that they feel about that.'
Related
'Road rage' in paradise: Traffic noise is changing how birds in the Galápagos behave
Scientists were in Antarctica when a giant iceberg broke free. Here's what they found in its shadow
Smith and Whitnall are still getting to know their four newest charges. They have already formed a strong bond with Yuna, who had never been on grass until she was rescued.
'She could barely walk,' Whitnall said. 'She was suffering from shell shock and concussion. She was so severely bad that they were actually going to euthanize her. But we managed to step in and get her out of the war zone, and she's just come on leaps and bounds since being here at the
sanctuary
.
'We're just so happy with her progress,' said Whitnall, who enjoys feeding Yuna her favorite snack of raw chicken legs. 'She's a beautiful lioness now.'
ADVERTISEMENT
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Euronews
2 days ago
- Euronews
Influential German 'nail artist' Günther Uecker dies aged 95
Günther Uecker, one of the most iconic and influential figures in post-war German art, has died at the age of 95. He was known around the world for his hypnotic nail reliefs - extraordinary textured surfaces created by hammering thousands of carpenter's nails into everyday objects like chairs, pianos, tree trunks, sewing machines, and canvases. His family confirmed he died at the university hospital in his hometown of Düsseldorf in western Germany on Tuesday night. They did not give a cause of death. Born in 1930 in the small Baltic village of Wendorf, the son of a farmer, Uecker rose to international fame from humble beginnings. After relocating to Düsseldorf in the 1950s, he studied and later taught at the city's revered art academy. He soon became part of the ZERO group, a radical post-war collective focused on light, movement, and purity in art. In 1956, inspired by Russian revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky's belief that 'poetry is made with a hammer,' Uecker began hammering nails into canvases, chairs, and spinning disks. His early kinetic pieces created clattering soundscapes and optical effects that blurred the line between painting, sculpture, and performance. Uecker once rode a camel through the hallowed halls of the Düsseldorf Academy in a surreal 1978 art intervention, and in 1968, alongside fellow artist Gerhard Richter, famously "occupied" the Kunsthalle Baden-Baden, their protest culminating in a kiss in front of the press. But beneath the playfulness ran a deep moral current. Uecker traveled the world with messages of peace, often creating works in countries under dictatorship or censorship. After the Chernobyl disaster, he painted using ash. He exhibited banners bearing messages of human rights in Beijing, and in a haunting series, painted words of violence -Verletzungswörter - in languages from around the globe. Despite international fame (his works now command over €1 million and appear at top galleries and fairs), Uecker retained an anti-establishment spirit. 'Don't join the establishment,' he told Apollo magazine in a late interview. In recent years, renewed global interest in the ZERO group, including a major retrospective at the Guggenheim Museum in 2014, brought his work to new audiences. Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Spain, where we lay our scene... A bastardised Shakespeare opening that suits the ongoing 'rivalry' between two family-owned taverns, who both claim to be the world's oldest establishments. There's Madrid's Sobrino de Botín, which holds the coveted Guinness World Record as the world's oldest restaurant. Founded in 1725 and located a stone's throw from the famed Plaza Mayor, it is famed for its wood-fire oven and has attracted patrons like Truman Capote, F. Scott Fitzgerald and was immortalised by Ernest Hemingway in his book 'The Sun Also Rises' - in which the author described Botín as 'one of the best restaurants in the world." It was awarded the Guinness accolade in 1987 and celebrated its 300 years of continuous service earlier this year. Then there's Casa Pedro, located on the outskirts of Madrid. The rustic tavern has boldly claimed that they have a shot at the title. The establishment has hosted Spanish King Juan Carlos I and current Spanish monarch King Felipe VI, and the owners assert their establishment endured the War of Spanish Succession at the start of the 18th century - therefore making Casa Pedro older than Botín. 'It's really frustrating when you say, 'Yes, we've been around since 1702,' but... you can't prove it,' says manager and eighth-generation proprietor Irene Guiñales. 'If you look at the restaurant's logo, it says 'Casa Pedro, since 1702,' so we said, 'Damn it, let's try to prove it.'' Guiñales' family has hired a historian and has so far turned up documents dating the restaurant's operations to at least 1750. She continues to hunt for records proving that Casa Pedro dates back to 1702. The question remains: How can either restaurant claim the title? Guinness provides its specific guidelines only to applicants, according to spokesperson Kylie Galloway, who notes that it entails 'substantial evidence and documentation of the restaurant's operation over the years." Antonio González, a third-generation proprietor of Botín, states that Guinness required Botín show that it has continuously operated in the same location with the same name. The only time the restaurant closed was during the pandemic – much like Casa Pedro. That criteria would mean that restaurants that are even older, like Paris' Le Procope, which says it was founded in 1686, aren't eligible for the Guinness designation. To make matters dicier, an Italian trattoria located in Rome's historic center, may pip both Sobrino de Botín and Casa Pedro to the post and steal the cake. Nestled on Vicolo della Campana, La Campana claims 'a taste of authentic Roman cuisine with a side of history' and more than 500 years of operation, citing documents on its menu and a self-published history. Its owners have said they have compiled the requisite paperwork and plan to submit it to Guinness. The battle of tasty households continues... Let's hope that chef blood won't make chef hands unclean.
Euronews
3 days ago
- Euronews
Fire breaks out on ship after explosion, Indian coastguard says
An explosion and subsequent fire were reported onboard a Singapore-flagged container ship off the coast of Kerala in southern India on Monday, a spokesperson for the Indian Coastguard said. Of the 22 crew members onboard the MV Wan Hai 503, 18 abandoned the vessel with assistance from the Indian Navy and coastguard while four are missing, Commandant Amit Uniyal said in a statement. One of the rescued crew members sustained serious injuries. Two of the four missing are nationals of Taiwan, one is from Indonesia and one from Myanmar, Uniyal said. The navy and coastguard have launched a search operation for the missing, aided by a Dornier aircraft. The navy uses Dornier aircraft primarily for maritime surveillance, search and rescue operations. A number of ships have also been sent to help put out the fire some 88 nautical miles (162 km) from the coast of Beypore in Kerala. "The vessel is presently adrift, and firefighting efforts have commenced to bring the situation under control," said Uniyal. "Saving lives of the crew in distress, firefighting and mitigating environment hazard remains the priority for coastguard." He said they were working to establish the details of the ship's cargo and any potential risks it could cause. The 271-metre vessel left the Sri Lankan port of Colombo on 7 June and was set to arrive in Mumbai on Monday. The coastguard received a distress alert from the ship Monday morning reporting an explosion and subsequent fire inside one of the containers onboard. The fire later spread to other containers. The coastguard has not yet given the cause of the explosion and fire. The vessel is managed by Singapore-based Wan Hai Lines, according to a statement from Singaporean authorities. Late last month, a Liberia-flagged container ship sailing between the Indian ports of Vizinjam and Kochi sank off Kerala. The state government issued a high alert in its coastal areas and asked fishermen not to venture near the site where the container ship, which carried hazardous cargo, had sunk. Ukraine and Russia have started a new prisoner of war exchange, following the agreement reached at the second round of direct talks in Istanbul last Monday. "Ukrainians are coming home from Russian captivity," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement. "Today the exchange began and will continue in several stages over the coming days. Among those being returned now are wounded and severely wounded prisoners, as well as those under 25," Zelenskyy added. Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the return of the first group of Russian POWs as well, without providing details on the swapped soldiers. Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said that the first group of released prisoners includes personnel from Ukraine's navy, ground forces, air force, national guard, border guard service, territorial defence, and special transport service. Among those returned on Monday are the defenders of Mariupol, who have spent over three years in Russian captivity. "Most of those returned were captured in the first days of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022," Ukraine's ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. "We warmly welcome all who can now breathe the air of their homeland after years of captivity," Lubinets added. "Our team shares in the joy of the families who received that precious and long-awaited call." Kyiv didn't disclose the total number of POWs returned on Monday, citing security reasons. A few days ago, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine wanted to bring home 500 prisoners in the POW swap on Saturday and Sunday, which ultimately did not take place. Kyiv and Moscow agreed that the exchange would include young soldiers under 25 years old, the severely wounded and the seriously ill. The sides have also agreed to exchange the bodies of the fallen servicepeople. On Sunday, Russia accused Ukraine of postponing the swap and failing to respect the agreement. Moscow said that the trains carrying the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers were due to depart towards the Ukrainian border, accusing Kyiv of "not collecting them". Russia's Lieutenant General Aleksandr Zorin told the state-run TASS news agency the transfer of 'more than 6,000 (Ukrainian) bodies' had been agreed during the talks in Turkey. Kyiv categorically denied the accusations. Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukrainian Defenсe Intelligence, said that Ukraine was strictly adhering to the agreements reached at the second round of talks in Istanbul. Budanov stated that the start of "repatriation measures" was scheduled to take place next week, which he claims the Russian side informed him of a few days ago. In his Sunday address, Zelenskyy accused Russia of "playing a dirty political and information game" on the agreed POW exchange. Kyiv says it has brought back over 5,000 prisoners of war in a series of exchanges since March. Ukraine continues to offer Russia an "all-for-all" swap — a proposal Moscow has so far rejected.
Local France
7 days ago
- Local France
French Word of the Day: RDC
Why do I need to know RDC? Because this acronym might help you find your way out of a French building if you are lost. What does it mean? RDC - roughly pronounced RDC - may be the acronym for the central African country, known as 'DRC' or Democratic Republic of Congo in English. But it has a more common meaning in French too, and you might see it on an invitation, an address, or when riding in an elevator. RDC is the acronym for rez-de-chaussée , meaning the part of the building on the ground level, though you might occasionally also see people refer to this as the rez-de-cour or rez-de-jardin. Americans should beware that in Europe, the ground floor is either RDZ or '0' on elevators and staircases. The first floor, instead, is the first floor above the ground floor. Advertisement For example, if you are visiting a new friend in France, they might leave instructions saying Sonnez pour Dupont, première porte à droite, RDC (Ring for Dupont, first door on the right on the ground level). The word rez-de-chaussée has existed since the 14th century, according to the Académie Française . The old preposition rez comes from the Latin rasus , the past participle of radere , meaning to shave or polish. As for chaussée , linguists say that it likely came from the Latin calciata , referring to roads made of limestone. Use it like this Suivez les panneaux indiquant le bâtiment C. Le cabinet se trouve au numéro 12, RDC. - Follow the signs to Building C. The office is located at number 12, ground floor. J'étais perdue en cherchant sa place partout au premier étage, mais après j'ai compris qu'il avait dit RDC. - I was lost looking for his place anywhere on the first floor, but then I realised he'd said RDC.
