Two lions, Nikola and Vasylyna, discovered malnourished and wandering the streets as cubs in Montenegro and Ukraine, have been relocated to a sanctuary in South Africa.
On April 26, global animal welfare organisation, Four Paws, facilitated their transfer from the Netherlands, where they had been since 2022, to the Lionsrock Sanctuary.
Nikola, born in 2021, was found in Montenegro in February 2022. Vasylyna was also born in 2021. They were both previously privately owned.
With no information about Nikola’s owner, he was found in a dire state, while Vasylyna, unable to climb or run due to underdeveloped muscles, was found in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
After receiving care at the Felida Big Cat Sanctuary in the Netherlands, they were deemed fit for relocation to South Africa, thanks to the assistance of local organisations and authorities.
Melissa Enoch
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