The Lions of Ukraine, which Wildlife Foundation supported in rescuing, are celebrating their first summer of freedom in Yorkshire far from the ravages of the Russian invasion.
Aysa and her three cubs, Emi, Santa, and Teddi who were rescued earlier this year by Yorkshire Wildlife Park and Wildlife Foundation have settled into their new home in Doncaster where they are enjoying the summer sunshine.
Aysa was rescued out of the war-torn Donetsk region to Kyiv, where she gave birth to her three cubs and the family then spent nine months in a holding facility in Poland before making the 2,000-mile trip to the UK.
Aysa was abandoned in a private zoo when fighting engulfed Donetsk. She then gave birth to her cubs, now nearly 2 years old. Traumatised and malnourished when they arrived from the Ukraine, they were cared for in a temporary shelter at a zoo in Poland. Yorkshire Wildlife Park then came to the rescue and, backed by public support through the WildLife Foundation, organised for them to start new lives at the park’s seven-acre Lion Country reserve in March.
Wildlife Foundation supported in raising funds for the transportation, veterinary care, and rehabilitation of the lions. If you would like to support their ongoing rehabilitation, please donate.
