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A young lioness that was found malnourished roaming the streets of a war-torn village in Ukraine has been evacuated from the country.
On June 7, 2023, the lion, known as Vasylyna, arrived at her forever home—the FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary in the Netherlands, which is operated by the international animal welfare organization FOUR PAWS.
Vasylyna was living in a temporary home near Kyiv after being captured in the streets of Vysoke village, located in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, in August 2022.
When the big cat was found in Vysoke, she was underweight and in poor health condition as a result of her previous keeping experience, according to FOUR PAWS.
The nearly 2-year-old lioness had previously escaped from a private owner who was keeping her illegally in the village. In Ukraine, the private keeping of wild animals for "entertainment and leisure purposes" is against the law.
After her escape, the lioness was captured by Wild Animal Rescue (WAR) and transferred to a temporary home in Chubynske near Kyiv. But this was only a temporary solution as the rescue center was not able to keep her permanently.
Given the impacts of the ongoing war on the big cat's welfare, FOUR PAWS managed to organize a transfer to the sanctuary in the Netherlands.
The FELIDA sanctuary functions as a special care facility for physically and mentally traumatized big cats. It is one of multiple FOUR PAWS sanctuaries around the world designed to re-home rescued wild animals.
There are now five rescued lions living at FELIDA—including Vasylyna—as well as one tiger. FELIDA provides the chance for a new life to big cats that were abused, neglected or forced to live under poor conditions.
"We are so happy to finally have brought Vasylyna to the Netherlands and into safety," Magdalena Scherk-Trettin, who coordinates FOUR PAWS wild animal rescues, said in a statement.
"The ongoing war and bureaucratic hurdles have caused several significant delays for this mission. Nevertheless we continued working tirelessly together with our partners from Wild Animal Rescue to bring her to FELIDA."
The transfer to the FELIDA sanctuary involved a journey of around 1,200 miles. Vasylyna was accompanied by a veterinarian along the way, and arrived at the sanctuary—located in Nijeberkoop, around a two-hour drive north-east of Amsterdam—in relatively good condition on Wednesday.
She will now receive the care she needs to recover from her ordeal and live a species-appropriate life, FOUR PAWS said.
"An extensive veterinary check will be planned in FELIDA to assess the health condition of the young lioness properly and to plan any individual treatments she needs to recover," Scherk-Trettin said.
When the door of her transport crate was opened, Vasylyna calmly walked out into her specially equipped enclosure with adjustable platforms and a centralized heating system.
She will spend time acclimatizing to her new home over the next few days, while also having access to the more spacious outdoor enclosure.
"Now, we are planning to offer Vasylyna an additional comfort and enrichment that we hope will contribute to her wellbeing. When she is ready, the team will introduce her to young lion Nikola, who has lived in FELIDA since June 2022 and shares a similar history with Vasylyna," Scherk-Trettin said.
"He also escaped from illegal private keeping, but in Montenegro. If everything goes well, the two brave partners in crime can grow up and live together. This is particularly important for social animals like lions."
Newsweek has contacted FOUR PAWS for comment via email.
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About the writer
Aristos is a Newsweek science and health reporter with the London, U.K., bureau. He is particularly focused on archaeology and ... Read more