A British animal welfare charity has rescued two young lions from a conflict-hit region and flown them to safety in Africa, where they have stepped onto grass for the first time in their lives.
The lions, Ben-Tzur and Ori, were taken from their mother soon after they were born and moved between owners who kept them as trophy pets.
Rescuers discovered one of the lions tied to a tree in a yard, while the other was being kept in a basement in Israel.
Their chance at a better life was then thrown into uncertainty when the escalating Middle East conflict left them stranded.
Now, with the help of Animal Defenders International (ADI), the pair are beginning again at the charity’s 455-acre sanctuary in South Africa, a vast landscape of rolling grassland where they can live alongside other lions and rediscover their natural instincts.
ADI founders Jan Creamer and Tim Phillips, who are from Surrey, travelled with Ben-Tzur and Ori throughout the 50-hour journey from Israel to Johannesburg, a route that took them through Cairo and Frankfurt.
“They visibly changed the moment they arrived at our sanctuary and after a first night sleeping on a nest of hay, they walked out of their house and mapped the layout of their territory, and continue to grow in confidence,” Tim said.
“The rescue was a very difficult operation because the war regularly closed airspace, leaving no cargo flights leaving Israel. As soon as we got word of a flight, we seized it, to give these young lions the chance of freedom in Africa in a protected space — even though it was an unusual route to Africa,” he added.
The lions had fallen victim to the growing trend of keeping exotic animals as trophy pets featured in social media posts to gain profile and even generate earnings by using them as business marketing tools.
They had been passed from owner to owner but were confiscated by Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority in a crackdown on wildlife trafficking and were put in a local zoo.
A British charity has plucked two lions from a war zone and taken them to a new life of freedom in Africa, where they have been able to walk on grass for the first time
Ben-Tzur (L) and Ori (R), who were ripped from their mother shortly after birth and passed around owners as trophy pets.
Ori enjoying the sunshine at the Adi Sanctuary
They were found one tied to a tree in a yard and the other in a basement in Israel. Just when their luck seemed to be changing, they were stranded because of the Middle East conflict
Just when their luck seemed to be changing, they were stranded because of the Middle East conflict
Pictured: Ori on the day of his rescue
But, thanks to Animal Defenders International (ADI), their forever home will be the rolling grasslands of the charity’s 455-acre sanctuary in South Africa where they can learn to roar with other lions and develop their animal instincts
ADI founders Jan Creamer and Tim Phillips, from Surrey, accompanied the lions on the 50-hour journey from Israel to Johannesburg via Cairo and Frankfurt
‘They visibly changed the moment they arrived at our sanctuary and after a first night sleeping on a nest of hay, they walked out of their house and mapped the layout of their territory, and continue to grow in confidence,’ says Tim
The lions had fallen victim to the growing trend of keeping exotic animals as trophy pets featured in social media posts to gain profile and even generate earnings by using them as business marketing tools
They had been passed from owner to owner but were confiscated by Israel’s Nature and Parks Authority in a crackdown on wildlife trafficking and were put in a local zoo
Tim and Jan flew with the lions keeping them hydrated with water fed through a hose and funnel and feeding strips of beef with barbecue tongs
‘We are grateful for the care they received but they couldn’t stay long term, nor could they get out because of the fighting between the US, Israel and Iran,’ adds Tim. ‘We were waiting for months and then, suddenly heard about a cargo flight leaving Tel Aviv, had to race to make sure the lions were on board.’
Tim and Jan flew with the lions keeping them hydrated with water fed through a hose and funnel and feeding strips of beef with barbecue tongs.
The 50-hour journey concluded with a three-hour road trip to the sanctuary, which is home to almost 40 lions and tigers ADI has rescued from entertainment and cruel circuses.
‘It was a long journey but they were calm and relaxed throughout,’ he says.
‘You could see them come alive when they got to the sanctuary.
‘The other lions roared a welcome and you could see their natural instincts start to awaken – they are young, and not roaring yet, but they will soon be joining the morning and evening sanctuary chorus.’
ADI has uncovered a tsunami of posts featuring wild animals in homes and apartments that are flooding the internet.
In one heartless post, which has generated 2.1 million likes, an agitated cheetah is seen wearing a collar while on a sofa next to its ‘owner’.
Another with 3.1 million views, shows a grown tiger collecting her cub, stranded on the polished tiles of an opulent home with a makeshift zoo in the garden.
Other accounts with huge followings feature a man reclining on a sun lounger while feeding a tiger cub with a baby bottle of milk while a fully-grown serval, a solitary African cat in the wild, is filmed pacing around a modern kitchen begging for food.
Ori plays with a ball in Africa
Pictured: The lions being loaded in Frankfurt
The lions arriving in Johannesburg
Pictured: Bentzur on the day of his rescue
Ori in his crate during the flight
Ori and Ben Tzur walk together in Africa
Ori lying in the grass at his new home
‘These animals are never suited to life in human homes.
‘They are being deprived of everything that is natural and pleasurable to them and they are clearly unhappy and damaged, although the selfish people posting seem oblivious to the daily cruelty they are causing,’ says Jan.
‘These animals are forced to live lonely, empty lives for the sake of selfies. Most will be abandoned when owners cannot cope with them anymore and they will likely die alone and in pitiful conditions.
‘This shameful trend is rolling back all the work of Sir David Attenborough and others who have shown us the beauty and majesty of animals in the wild, where they belong.
‘Ben-Tzur and Ori now have great, natural lives to look forward to but others will not be so lucky.
‘We must stop this cruel trade which is a blight on animals and a shame on social media platforms.’
