It will be impossible for the lions to survive in the wild as they were bred in captivity and their circus owners mutilated many by breaking their teeth and removing their claws.
Advertisement
Freedom after circus lions banned..
‘But it will be hugely satisfying to see these lions walking into the African bush, it might be one of the finest rescues I’ve ever seen – it’s never happened before, taking lions from circuses in South America all the way home to Africa.
“It’s truly wonderful that these lions, after a lifetime of suffering and abuse in circuses, are going home to Africa”, said the president of ADI, Jan Creamer.
“The lion habitats will be steadily expanded over the coming months as the lions become familiar with their new life and are introduced to each other”, said ADI.
“LEO: Leo is the granddaddy and one of the oldest lions rescued by ADI during Operation Spirit of Freedom”.
Savannah Heuser, founder of Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary, said in a statement, “The lions are returning to where they belong”.
Thirty-three rescued lions that endured “hell on earth” at circuses in Colombia and Peru have been flown to South Africa to start a new life in a sanctuary, in the largest airlift of the big cats in history.
They’ve been deprived of everything that makes life worth living for a lion.
“The lions will be in their natural habitat for the first time in their lives”, Creamer said.
Nine of the lions were surrendered by a circus in Colombia. At dawn on Sunday, the freed lions were released into large, natural enclosures in the big cat sanctuary, right in the heart of the African bush.They will remain in quarantine for some time for veterinary purposes.
The first few days are likely to be hard – and the lions will spend them in special enclosures, until they get used to the surroundings- and each other. Numerous lions were never allowed to have direct physical contact with other lions and have never been together without a fence or a cage separating them. Because they can not hunt they will be fed game meat and will have water in their enclosures.
Advertisement
The lions suffered in captivity.
