Eleven lions have been saved from Ukraine in the ‘biggest ever warzone rescue’ as they are airlifted to sanctuaries around the world.
The big cats are being taken to their new homes in South Africa and the US on a Boeing Dreamliner, after taking off from Romania.
The near-dozen group had spent the last few months in the temporary shelters while the rescue mission, thought to be the largest of its kind, was organised.
Seven adult lions and two cubs will find a new home in Colorado’s Wild Animal Sanctuary. They were rescued by two organisations earlier in the year.
The other two lions will head to South Africa, after the entire group lands in Doha, Qatar, and is split.
Animal rescuer Lionel De Lange (left) and his partner Reon Human (centre) are accompanying the lions on the flight. Pictured with Csaba Borsos, the mayor’s assistant in Targu Mures, Romania
They are being accompanied on their flight from Bucharest by animal rescuer Lionel De Lange and his partner Reon Human.
Mr De Lang, founder and director of Warriors of Wildlife, said that big cats Simba and Mir will go to his sanctuary, the Simbonga Game Reserve and Sanctuary in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
‘There’s never been a single rescue of this many lions from a warzone and we just feel so grateful that we have got to this point,’ he told Metro.
‘We are extremely appreciative of all the governments involved in processing the permits for the lions to travel, it’s amazing to have got it all done in four months.’
The two men had to travel to the Hungarian border before the flight because South Africa does not have an embassy in Romania that could issue the needed paperwork.
The near-dozen group had spent the last few months in the temporary shelters while the rescue mission, thought to be the largest of its kind, was organised
By the side of the road, they were granted an emergency travel permit — but could not enter the country themselves because they did not have visas.
Having spent around 30 hours without sleep, the duo sped back to Bucharest with the necessary paperwork in hand. There, the 11 lions were boarded onto their rescue flight.
‘The lions have a couple of scratches and bruises but they are travelling well. As with every single rescue we do, there’s an incredible feeling knowing they are going to a good place,’ Mr De Lang added.
The pride of nine had been living in Odessa, a southern port in Ukraine, before being driven in a convoy to Romania on May 24.
The journey took 13 people, including someone from Breaking the Chains, a UK-based animal rescue organisation.
Radauti Zoo transports the lions to their flight out of Bucharest, Romania, to Doha, in Qatar
The big cats were sedated and placed in crates for the journey spanning more than 600 miles across Ukraine and Moldova before arriving in Targu Mures, Romania.
The other lions, Simba and Mia, had already been transported to a zoo in Suceava, a north-eastern city in Romania.
Simba was previously living in eastern Ukraine but was at risk from Russian forces as the Kremlin began its invasion. He was rescued by Tim Locks and Jonathan Weaving, two British humanitarian volunteers.
The two lions are now on their way to more natural habitats, as Warriors of Wildlife works to re-home animals outside of zoos.
Mr De Lang said that his sanctuary will feel like a ‘haven’ for the animals when they arrive, adding that their new enclosures will be grassy and without bars — using electric fencing instead.
The big cats were sedated and placed in crates for the journey spanning more than 600 miles across Ukraine and Moldova before arriving in Targu Mures, Romania
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