WARSAW, Oct 27 (Reuters) – 4 lion cubs and a black leopard cub from war-torn Ukraine have discovered security in a Polish zoo, the Worldwide Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) stated, after surviving drone assaults and bombing within the first few months of their lives.
The cubs have been transferred to animal rescue organisations in Kyiv and Odessa after a crackdown on the unique pet commerce in Ukraine, and are actually in Poznan zoo in western Poland awaiting onward journey.
“An estimated 200 lions stay in personal houses (in Ukraine) and because the struggle rages on, they face more and more grim outcomes,” Meredith Whitney, Wildlife Rescue Program Supervisor on the IFAW stated in an announcement.
IFAW stated it had partnered with a sanctuary in the USA and one in Europe to look after the cubs, who have been bred in captivity and can’t be launched into the wild.
The Wildcat Sanctuary (TWS) in the USA will handle the lion cubs.
“We have been thrilled to have the ability to provide these cubs a ravishing, one acre habitat collectively and hope to welcome them dwelling quickly,” stated Tammy Thies, the founder and government director of the sanctuary.
Reporting by Lewis Macdonald, writing by Alan Charlish; Modifying by Hugh Lawson
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