on the left, we have to ross in the middle, we have Les CIA and then we have stefania here on the right and big girl product is trying to become *** member of the family. The process, timothy says she’s being very tolerant and gentle, she can’t believe is finally happening. They’re *** symbol. They’re *** symbol of what can be done when we all work together. Three of these four are siblings, traders in Ukraine surrendered them to be orphans in september. There were daily drone attacks in Odessa and then there were bombing attacks very close to them While they were in Kiev, which is when the International Fund of Animal Welfare got involved for this rescue. There were so many different pieces and different players that all had to be in place and perfectly aligned to have *** success including getting the lions on *** plane before four temperatures got too cold, meaning *** three month process really had to happen in two and we did have moments more than I would like to admit where we thought this was never going to work. We didn’t know until we stepped foot on that plane that we were actually going to be able to bring them to the U. S. And so I think once we had them loaded and in the plane we able we were able finally to breathe like they’re going to be finally coming home Tuesday Home at last. Right now each of these Cubs is just *** few months old. They only weigh about 30 or 40 lb or so but they will grow to be £450 each and spend the next 20 years of their lives living here in the sanctuary, and to know that they will never have to move again and they’ll get to live their lives out here at the sanctuary is the best feeling ever.
4 lion cubs saved from war in Ukraine arrive at US animal sanctuary
Updated: 8:55 AM EST Dec 1, 2022
Four lion cubs that were orphaned during the war in Ukraine have arrived safely at a Minnesota animal sanctuary that has pledged to provide them a permanent home.Watch the lion cubs in the video above.A male cub named Taras and three females named Stefania, Lesya and Prada, who are all between four and five months old, spent the last three weeks at the Poznan Zoo in Poland. Their arrival Tuesday marked the final step in an arduous journey after they lived through sporadic bombings and drone attacks in Ukraine, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, one of several groups working to rescue animals from the war.”These cubs have endured more in their short lives than any animal should,” Meredith Whitney, wildlife rescue program manager at the fund, said in a statement. “They were born at breeding facilities in Ukraine during the war and then orphaned at a few weeks old.”Their new home is The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, about 90 miles north of Minneapolis. They were put on a plane that was returning to the U.S. from Poland. It landed Tuesday in Minneapolis, from where sanctuary staffers brought them to the facility where they were assessed by a veterinarian and given a warm place to rest. The flight was funded in part by the New York-based Andrew Sabin Family Foundation.Dr. Andrew Kushnir, an American veterinarian with the fund who accompanied the cubs on their flight, cared for the cubs in Ukraine and Poland. Despite drone attacks and airstrikes, he prepared their specialized formula every three hours, the fund said. On nights when the power went out, he used his arms and legs to warm their milk bottles.The cubs came from two litters, Whitney said. Three were rescued from Odesa, she said, while Prada, the oldest, was born at a breeder in Kyiv. The rescuers don’t know what became of the mothers, she added.The nonprofit Wildcat Sanctuary shelters nearly 130 lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards and other wildcats, many of which were rescued from the trade in exotic pets, including the four cubs. To assure peace and tranquility for the cats, it does not put them on public display, but lets them roam in fenced enclosures amid the woods of Minnesota. The sanctuary does offer virtual tours via its website and Facebook page.
Four lion cubs that were orphaned during the war in Ukraine have arrived safely at a Minnesota animal sanctuary that has pledged to provide them a permanent home.
Watch the lion cubs in the video above.
A male cub named Taras and three females named Stefania, Lesya and Prada, who are all between four and five months old, spent the last three weeks at the Poznan Zoo in Poland. Their arrival Tuesday marked the final step in an arduous journey after they lived through sporadic bombings and drone attacks in Ukraine, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, one of several groups working to rescue animals from the war.
“These cubs have endured more in their short lives than any animal should,” Meredith Whitney, wildlife rescue program manager at the fund, said in a statement. “They were born at breeding facilities in Ukraine during the war and then orphaned at a few weeks old.”
Their new home is The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, about 90 miles north of Minneapolis. They were put on a plane that was returning to the U.S. from Poland. It landed Tuesday in Minneapolis, from where sanctuary staffers brought them to the facility where they were assessed by a veterinarian and given a warm place to rest. The flight was funded in part by the New York-based Andrew Sabin Family Foundation.
Dr. Andrew Kushnir, an American veterinarian with the fund who accompanied the cubs on their flight, cared for the cubs in Ukraine and Poland. Despite drone attacks and airstrikes, he prepared their specialized formula every three hours, the fund said. On nights when the power went out, he used his arms and legs to warm their milk bottles.
The cubs came from two litters, Whitney said. Three were rescued from Odesa, she said, while Prada, the oldest, was born at a breeder in Kyiv. The rescuers don’t know what became of the mothers, she added.
The nonprofit Wildcat Sanctuary shelters nearly 130 lions, tigers, cheetahs, leopards and other wildcats, many of which were rescued from the trade in exotic pets, including the four cubs. To assure peace and tranquility for the cats, it does not put them on public display, but lets them roam in fenced enclosures amid the woods of Minnesota. The sanctuary does offer virtual tours via its website and Facebook page.
