The Yorkshire Wildlife Park has taken in a lioness and three cubs rescued from a private zoo in Ukraineas Russian bombs rained down. A pregnant mother, Aysa, who was pregnant with her three cubs Emi, Santa and Teddie, when she was abandoned in the Donetsk region after the Russian invasion.
After spending nine months in a holding facility in Poland, the lioness and her three cubs, who escaped the bombs in Ukraine, were driven 2,000 miles to their new residence in God’s Own Country. The animals managed to evade the Russian Bombs in Donetsk a year ago .
They can now enjoy grass, trees and fresh air, after being held in a small indoor enclosure where the cubs have had little experience of the outside world. Often in distress in the holding facility, they’d hiss as people who came near them.
The seven month operation to bring the lions to the UK finally came to a conclusion with them arriving on Thursday. It’s said the lions will spend the first few weeks being rehabilitated by staff and will be out of sight of the public until they’re ready to enter their new reserve.
The Mirror reported that Watching her settle on Thursday, Colin said: “I’m over the moon, overjoyed they are finally here. And I am totally amazed at how quickly they’ve settled in. The cubs were playing with the logs together within minutes of being reunited.
“Now I can’t wait until they are settled enough to run around, walk on the grass and smell the fresh air. It’s overwhelming to finally have them here with us and the public are going to love them.This is a massive new world for them and it’s going to be really scary at first.
“Even the language they hear will be different. I’m trying to learn a few words in Polish to make them feel more at home. But I can’t wait for them now to run around playing, walking on grass for the first time, seeing the water and the sky. It will be incredible.”
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Feature Image Credit: Yorkshire Wildlife Park
