Hungry lions and tigers have been rescued from war-torn Ukraine and given a new lease of life at a game reserve in South Africa.
Warriors of Wildlife rescued hungry big cats from cramped cages in Ukraine’s Carpathian Mountains and Mykolaiv region, where food supplies were running low due to conflict.
After being rescued in 2022, the animals made the 85-hour trek to the Simbonga Game and Sanctuary in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
The animals were kept in cages for hours during the journey across the continent, but were found to be in good health after the long journey.
In total, the organization rescued seven big cats during the operation, including six lions named Cher, 8, Hercules, 4, Khaya, 4, Akira, 4, Mer, 4 and Simba, 10, as well as a tiger named Gina, 9.
Warriors of Wildlife rescued eight big cats from parts of war-torn Ukraine, including enclosures in the Carpathian Mountains and the Mykolaiv region, where the animals were in small cages with little food (pictured)
The lions underwent an 85-hour trek to travel from Ukraine to Simbonga Game Reserve and Reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where they now live in the great outdoors.
Besides the lions, a nine-year-old tiger named Gina was also rescued from a fence in Ukraine (pictured in South Africa this year)
The lions now live in large enclosures ready to embark on their new lives.
Since their move from Europe, the reserve’s conservation director Lauren Fuddsmith, 32, has been documenting the animals’ progress since their arrival in Africa.
‘All of these animals now live in our sanctuary in South Africa at Simbonga Game Reserve,’ said Lauren.
The lions endured 85 hours in their cages from Ukraine to their destination in the sanctuary.
Our non-profit organization is called Warriors of Wildlife; We operate all over the world mainly focusing in Ukraine and South Africa currently.
Tourists can come and visit the lions and learn about the animals as well as the work that goes into saving them.
Our goal is to rescue and transport captive animals in need.
These weren’t the only animals rescued from the Eastern European country in the past year.
Since the war broke out in Ukraine, Warriors have rescued Wildlife and relocated 37 lions from Ukraine to South Africa.
The tiger that was photographed in Ukraine after Putin invaded the country last year
The animals in these packages (pictured) weren’t the first big cats to be rescued. In May 2022, Warriors of Wildlife, along with animal rescue groups Breaking the Chains, travel to the shattered Black Sea port of Odessa to rescue a group of lions and tigers.
Since the war broke out in Ukraine, Warriors have rescued Wildlife and relocated 37 lions from Ukraine to South Africa
Pictures shared by sanctuary director Lauren Fuddsmith show the horrific conditions the lions were kept in prior to their rescue
Prior to the rescue mission, the lions were left to starve, as the animals’ meat supplies were critically low
During one mission in May 2022, Warriors of Wildlife, along with the animal rescue group Breaking the Chains, travel to the decrepit-torn Black Sea port of Odessa to rescue a group of big cats.
Nine lions, who were facing starvation at the time, were rescued from their home in Biopark, Odessa.
Two adult males, five lionesses and two cubs have been moved to a temporary home in Târgu Mures, Romania.
The animals were then taken to Simbonga Game Reserve or transferred to a wildlife sanctuary in the United States.
It was an international operation, and it was great to work with other people who were so eager to get this amazing job done,” Lionel de Lange, founder of Warriors of the Wildlife and a veteran of the South African Army, said at the time.
I hope we can get back under Russian noses again and save more animals together in the future.
“It’s great for me to get any animal out of a bad situation, but I think for me as someone who lived in Ukraine, it was very special.
“The future of the Lions was so bleak in Odessa because the writing hung on the wall, there seemed to be no end to the war anytime soon.”
