Four Lions Rescued From War-Torn Ukraine Starting New Life At Yorkshire Wildlife Park

**Santa, Teddi and Emi are pictured in their new enclosure at Yorkshire Wildlife Park. Credit: Yorkshire Wildlife Park.**

Three-year-old Aysa and her three cubs have arrived at their new Yorkshire home after travelling 2,000 miles. The animals spent nine months confined without seeing the sky before being driven from Poznan, Poland, to establish their new residence.

Emi, Santa, and Teddi, the Lion cubs, saw grass, trees, and birds for the first time since their mum Aysa managed to evade Russian Bombs in Donetsk a year ago.

**Teddi, Emi and Santa were often distressed when seen at their temporary home in Poland. Credit: Yorkshire Wildlife Park.**

The cubs have little experience of the outside world, the park said, after being held in small indoor enclosures.

Bex Brown, 34, head of the carnivore section at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, was thrilled by the sight. She shared: “It’s incredible. This is what dreams are made of. As a child all you want is to help animals and now I’m part of this wonderful rescue.”

Teddi was the first to venture out of his box into a tunnel which leads to a holding area while Colin Northcott, the deputy head of carnivores, used the Polish word for ‘come’ to encourage him to move. Unsurprisingly, Teddi didn’t hesitate and ran straight into the pen where he kept low in the straw.

**Lion cub Teddi is released from his crate into his new enclosure at The Yorkshire Wildlife Park.**

Emi and Santa took longer to join, requiring about five and twenty minutes respectively. Initially, they were seen staying close together but soon began interacting playfully with logs within the cage.

Aysa, who was settled in an adjacent cage, appeared the calmest among all, instantly settling into her space, moving towards the front of the enclosure and appearing intrigued by the sky above. She also took notice of all the rangers around, seeming to recognise Colin specifically.

But they had to be split up when Aysa got upset with one of them in their small space. The cubs and their mum lived next to each other in little concrete pens. They might not have run around freely before.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park worked hard for seven months to bring them to the UK. They arrived in Yorkshire at night, but it was too dark to let them out. So they saw their new home when the sun came up on Thursday. The park rangers really like the four new Lions.

Asha was all alone and didn’t have enough food during the war until she was rescued. She had her babies in October 2022.

**Lioness Aysa was pregnant with her cubs when she was abandoned at a private zoo in Ukraine. Credit: Yorkshire Wildlife Park.**

Colin, watching them get used to their new place, 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.

“Poznan Zoo did an amazing thing rescuing them and they looked after them really well, they look so healthy and fit. But it pulled at my heartstrings seeing them unable to enjoy the fresh air and the outside world.

“The rangers over there were also really keen for them to get more space. It’s like she’s been here for years! She is such a sweetheart. Of the cubs, Santa is the largest and most dominant.

“I’m really happy with their condition and how calm they seem. I didn’t expect that at all. When I saw them in Poznan they were terrified.”

In Poznan, the traumatised cubs would hiss at strangers. They could hear their mum calling as she paced in the pen next door but couldn’t see her.

In Yorkshire they will soon be reunited as their holding pens are separated by a panel that can be removed to reveal a mesh barrier. The rangers have a plan to eventually release the lions into an eight-acre enclosure filled with waterfalls and caves. Cheryl Willams, 61, co-founded Yorkshire Wildlife Park in 2008, along with her husband Nev, business partner John Minion and his father Stephen Minion.

They wanted to create a zoo that was a “guilt-free” experience. The park, located at Auckley, near Doncaster, has been very successful and is well-known for its work in animal conservation. This will be The Pride of Yorkshire 2 as they carried out the biggest ever rescue of Lions in 2010 when they flew 13 lions from terrible conditions in a Romanian zoo.

**The original Lion Country at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.**

Now, only two of those rescued Lions remain, Crystal and Carla, who are both 17 years old. Cheryl and John said the rescue was funded by the public and they said it was important their ‘Lion Country’ remained for animal welfare use.

“It’s remarkable how calm they are,” she said. “They are just sat there looking at us, at the moment. They seem fascinated by their surroundings. I think people are going to absolutely love the Lions because people love a happy ending like this.

“And people also love characters and you can see already how they are all so different. I really can’t wait for people to be able to see them in a few weeks time.”

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They Spent Years Locked In A Train Carriage In Argentina. Now The Four Tigers, Known As The ‘Train Tigers’, Can Feel The Grass Beneath Their Feet.

**The train carriage that was ‘home’ to four Bengal Tigers. Credit: Four Paws/Nicolas Cabona.**

The four Bengal Tigers, who lived 15 years in a train carriage in Argentina, have now been at their new home in South Africa for two years.

FAMILY OF FOUR

In 2007, a travelling circus abandoned the 18-year-old male and 15-year-old female Tiger in a train carriage in San Luis province in the west of Argentina. The circus asked a local farmer to temporarily take care of them, but never returned. The animals remained in the train carriage and had two babies.

The farmer didn’t inform the authorities of the situation given that it is illegal to keep wild animals privately in Argentina and simply tried to take care of them as best he could.

**PRISON. Credit: Four Paws/Hristo Vladev**

In 2021, Argentinian authorities became aware of the bad living conditions of the Tigers and began looking for solutions for the animals.

FOUR PAWS TO THE RESCUE

By February 2022, through the bars of their cages, the four Tigers had watched the sunrise over the meadow more than 5,000 times. Freedom had always been right in front of them, yet so far away.

The cages were barely larger than the size of two parking spaces and were part of an old train carriage – unfit for any animal. In the beginning, it was only two of them. Then two cubs were born, who are 10 years old today. They were trapped behind bars in dirty conditions, with little space to move on a train wagon – which has been stood still since then.

Animal welfare organization Four Paws rescued Sandro, Mafalda, Messi and Gustavo from their cages and transferred them to LionsRock Big Cat Sanctuary.

Veterinarians of Four Paws spent weeks on-site to prepare the Tigers with positive reinforcement so that the transfer would be as safe as possible for the animals.

“These Tigers spent over 15 years in the same 75m² space, surrounded by the same landscape and without any stimulation of their instincts or natural behaviour. Our team needed to be around them so they would stay calm in our presence and during the transfer,” Four Paws veterinarian Amir Khalil, who led the rescue mission, said.

The Tigers had to be taken out of their cages, moved into transport crates and on a truck to the airport, flown from Argentina to South Africa, and taken off the airport on trucks to their new home. The total journey took more than 70 hours.

At LionsRock, Mafalda took a little time before leaving her transport crate, but the three other Tigers started to explore the new surroundings almost immediately, Four Paws said.

**Mafalda hesitantly enters her new life of freedom. Credit: Four Paws**

“These Tigers have never felt grass or earth under their paws. It’s the first time they can see the sky above them, not just metal bars and a roof,” Khalil said.

“Now they have hundreds of square meters full of new feelings, tastes and smells. It is overwhelming for them to be in a completely new environment, but animals are quick at adapting to better living conditions,” he added.

**Messi and Sandro enjoying their freedom. Credit: Four Paws/Daniel Born**

“The road to rehabilitation for these animals now begins,” Hildegard Pirker, who manages LionsRock Big Cat Sanctuary, said

There are only around 3,900 Tigers left in the wild, Four Paws said, adding that due to a lack of regulations, Tigers are kept in captivity and traded around the world for human entertainment and killed for their skin, fur, bones, and teeth.

The Train Tigers of Argentina – two years on. Credit: Four Paws.

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Bhagavan ‘Doc’ Antle Of Netflix’s ‘Tiger King’ Pleads Guilty To Wildlife Trafficking And Money Laundering.

An exotic wildlife preserve owner who gained notoriety on the popular Netflix series “Tiger King” pled guilty on Monday to animal trafficking and money laundering, the U.S. Justice Department announced.

Bhagavan “Doc” Antle oversaw the sale or purchase of Cheetah cubs, Lion cubs, Tigers and a juvenile Chimpanzee that were all protected as endangered species, according to a Justice Department release. Officials said the 63-year-old man featured in a documentary mini-series about the Tiger trade tried to hide animal payments as “donations” to his nonprofit organization.

“The defendant held himself out as a conservationist, yet repeatedly violated laws protecting endangered animals and then tried to cover up those violations,” Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division said in a statement.

Antle On *The Tonight Show Credit: Paul Drinkwater*

Antle faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, fines up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release for each count. He is also the owner and operator of the Myrtle Beach Safari, which is also known as The Institute for Greatly Endangered and Rare Species, or T.I.G.E.R.S., prosecutors said. The safari is a 50-acre nature preserve that offers tours and the chance for private encounters with wildlife, prosecutors said.

Antle faces a maximum of five years’ imprisonment, fines up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release for each count.

Investigators found evidence that Antle and a coconspirator had also used cash acquired through the transportation and harboring of immigrants who illegally entered the country.

It’s the latest fallout for the subjects of “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.” Joe Exotic, the show’s star, is serving a 21-year prison sentence for trying to hire two different men to kill animal welfare activist Carol Baskin. The ongoing feud between Joe Exotic — whose real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — and Baskin featured prominently in the show. Maldonado-Passage had one year shaved off his penalty last year as he began treatment for early-stage cancer.

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PLEASE HELP ANIMALS IN NEED

Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.

The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.

We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.

Tiger King Star Carole Baskin To Close Big Cat Rescue And Move Wildlife To Arkansas Refuge

Baskin, who shot to fame in 2020 when her feud with Joe Exotic became a Netflix hit, has decided to close her Big Cat Rescue centre and transfer most of its wildlife from Florida to a sanctuary in Arkansas.

“The win-win solution both for our captive cats and the cats in the wild is for us to merge our cat population with the population at another existing accredited sanctuary.”

In a memo published on the sanctuary’s website, her husband, Howard Baskin, announced that the 30-year-old center in Tampa has agreed to move most of its cats to the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge.

“We will continue to fund their care for the rest of their lives,” the statement said.

The Big Cat Rescue has provided a safe haven for exotic cats that people have abandoned, mistreated, or retired from performing since 1992. Locals and tourists alike have frequented the rescue, located at 12802 Easy Street.

However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the rescue center closed its doors to the public and has not reopened to visitors.

BCPSA Has Led To A Decrease In Tiger Rescues

The decision to close the center comes after the federal Big Cat Public Safety Act, or BCPSA, was passed, which prohibits cub petting and the private ownership of big cats, including Lions, Tigers, Leopards, Cheetahs, Jaguars, Cougars, or any hybrid of these species.

Howard and Carole Baskin at their Big Cat Rescue sanctuary

“With the passage of the BCPSA, we expect the need for rescues to decline over the coming decade. If the need were going to continue at the pace we saw up until a few years ago, we would be making a different decision,” read the statement.

“Having ended most of the abuse of big cats via the BCPSA, focusing on the third prong of our mission, i.e., maximizing the amount we can donate to in situ projects to save the cats from extinction, is the best way to fulfill our mission and impact the most cats going forward.”

A financial liability

Moreover, mounting expenses have also placed considerable financial pressure on the estate.

According to the Baskins, currently the property’s overhead costs are $1.5 million per year, or over $36,000 per cat.

**Carol Baskin, pictured in Tiger King, has announced her Florida property is closing, with 2023 expected to be ‘the most challenging financial year in the sanctuary’s history’**.

“As the population declines, it becomes an increasingly inefficient use of donor funds per cat to operate a facility like ours,” Mr. Baskin explained.

“The win-win solution both for our captive cats and the cats in the wild is for us to merge our cat population with the population at another existing accredited sanctuary.”

He added: “Supporting our cats in larger enclosures at Turpentine Creek, at a much lower cost per cat than we incur by continuing to operate Big Cat Rescue, will free up resources to let us do much more to save big cats in the wild.”

New home for the big cats

Turpentine’s founder and president, Tanya Smith, said that her organization and Big Cat Rescue “share similar ideologies and core values, so it seemed quite logical that Carole and Howard would approach us.”

According to Smith, the sanctuary has already taken measures to accommodate the incoming cats.

“In 2021, [Turpentine] launched a capital campaign initiative to build a visitor education center and museum,” Smith said.

“Part of that project includes a five-year plan to develop another 13 acres on our 459-acre property to provide additional habitats.

“We anticipate the construction will be completed within the next six months. This increased space will not only accommodate the remaining cats at Big Cat Rescue but some additional space for other rescue needs.”

The memo also mentioned that once all the cats at the sanctuary have been moved, the Hillsborough County sanctuary property will be sold, and the proceeds will be used to “fund these species-saving projects in the wild.”

Moreover, Big Cat Rescue will also help fund the building of the enclosures at Turpentine Creek, which “is expected to cost $1.8 million.”

Tiger King

Big Cat Rescue and Carole Baskin caught global attention three years ago when Netflix released its popular Tiger King docuseries.

As well as focusing on the illegal wildlife trade, the documentary followed Baskin’s feud with Joe Exotic, an eccentric zookeeper serving a 21-year sentence for hiring hitmen to kill her.

In the documentary, Exotic accused Baskin of murdering her ex-husband, Don Lewis, and feeding him to their Tigers. However, Baskin denies these accusations. Don Lewis disappeared without a trace in 1997, and authorities are still investigating his disappearance.

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WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE:

You can support ‘Protect All Wildlife’ by donating as little as £1 – It only takes a minute but it can last a lifetime for an animal in need. Please donate below.

Everyone who donates will receive a Certificate of Appreciation as a thank you for helping animals in need.

The Mission of Protect All Wildlife is to prevent cruelty and promote the welfare of ALL animals.

We believe EVERY animal should be treated with respect, empathy, and understanding. We raise awareness to protect and conserve wild, captive, companion and farm animals.