First of five lions arrives in the UK from Ukraine

(London, 19 August 2024) – A young lioness has arrived safely at her forever home at The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent, after travelling over 1,400 miles from war-torn Ukraine.  

The lioness, named Yuna, has already had a traumatic life. Yuna was rescued from a house close to where there had been explosions, in poor conditions, being bullied by another lion, Atlas. In January 2024, debris was blasted so close to Yuna’s enclosure that she suffered from shell shock and loss of coordination. She was surrendered to the facility at Wild Animal Rescue, which has been supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). 

Yuna is the first of a cohort of lions being moved to The Big Cat Sanctuary, which is urgently looking to raise funds to build the enclosures for the remaining lions that they are taking on. While The Big Cat Sanctuary has immediate capacity for one lion, temporary homes have been identified in Belgium where the other lions will stay in safety for the coming months until their forever homes are ready. 

The other lions include Rori – a male lion, who also suffered shell shock. He moved with Yuna in the same journey, although he was dropped off en-route at Natuurhulpcentrum VZW in Belgium. Two young sisters – Amani and Lira, thought to be around one year old – will be moving to Pairi Daiza in Belgium. Finally, a young lioness, Vanda, who was being kept in an apartment block in Southeastern Ukraine near where a nuclear power plant is located. She was so malnourished she appeared the size of a three to four-month-old cub, despite being about eight months old, as her growth development had been stunted. She will be going to ZOO Planckendael in Belgium. 

“When we heard about the heart-breaking plight of these lions, we knew we had to do something, even though we didn’t have the space”, said Cameron Whitnall of The Big Cat Sanctuary. “We immediately got to work, trying to find out how to make this idea a reality. It’s a race against time, but we are determined to give them the best possible forever home they can have – that's our mission because they deserve it after all they’ve been through,” Whitnall added.  

Once these big cats are moved, this means the remaining five lions that IFAW supported at Wild Animal Rescue will have been successfully placed in safe homes. This marks another milestone for Wild Animal Rescue and IFAW – helping to secure homes for 21 big cats in total.   

“Ukraine is now no stranger to tragedy, and the stories of these big cats are no different. I am happy, that at least for them, they are heading to a safer place. The Big Cat Sanctuary has offered permanent homes to the remaining lions, including Yuna who we feared might not be homed due to her psychological issues,” says Natalia Gozak, who has been coordinating these evacuations on behalf of IFAW and Wild Animal Rescue.  

Most big cats bred in captivity cannot be released into the wild, so IFAW, animal welfare groups and partners work to identify suitable homes where they will receive lifelong care. Housing options are scarce, and the ongoing war has caused a marked influx of animals needing homes, straining the already limited number of suitable venues with capacity. The Big Cat Sanctuary is now building bespoke enclosures to ensure the rescued big cats will have the very best care.  

“Wild animals born in captivity and rescued from these situations, sadly cannot return to the wild, where they belong,” added Gozak. “Lions do not make suitable pets – they are wild animals so require expert specialist care to best meet their physical and psychological needs.”  

“It’s a scary time for everyone here in Ukraine. These big cats must have been so frightened and confused – some were born during the conflict and know no life other than the constant chaos of war, some have been directly impacted by shelling. I am relieved these lions now have a better life ahead,” Natalia Popova, Wild Animal Rescue, said.   

The remaining lions will stay in the temporary facilities in Belgium as construction plans for their enclosures are underway at The Big Cat Sanctuary. Once built, they will be welcomed into their forever homes. 

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Notes to editors 

Lions to be moved to The Big Cat Sanctuary: 

• Yuna – female, three years old. Arrived in the UK, and at The Big Cat Sanctuary in quarantine. Yuna was found by military volunteers in February 2023, where she was kept in a house in inadequate conditions, together with the young male lion Atlas (he was moved to Parc de l`Auxois in January 2024). It is thought there were plans to use them for illegal breeding. Both animals lived together in 3x4 metre enclosure with a bare, concrete floor. Although the owner was not identified, they did say they could no longer care for the lions because the male lion Atlas had become too aggressive after heavy shelling in the Kyiv region and because he was dominating Yuna.  After their evacuation to Wild Animal Rescue on 20 February 2023, a vet stated that Yuna had wounds due to the long stay on a cold concrete floor, and she was overweight due to poor diet. She was in such bad health, she could not stand on her feet. It took some time before she was able to walk around the enclosure at Wild Animal Rescue, but she was still traumatized. After Yuna was rescued, she was separated from Atlas and her weight subsequently decreased.  On 2 January 2024 during a large-scale Russian missile attack, debris fell approximately 300 metres from Yuna's enclosure. This caused her to suffer a serious concussion (shell shock), which led to a complete loss of coordination. CCTV footage confirmed that it was not an ordinary injury but acoustic trauma. Yuna would stay cowered in a corner of her enclosure, growling and showing signs of stress.  Yuna took months to recover from the shell shock although in March she began to turn a corner, showing fewer signs of stress, and became more interested in the other lions at the shelter.  
• Rori – male, three years old. Has been placed at Natuurhulpcentrum VZW in Belgium until enclosure ready. Rori lived in a private menagerie in the Sumy region and it is thought he was used for illegal breeding. He used to live together with a lioness, but at the time of rescue he was alone. After the invasion, the menagerie was disbanded, and the area was heavily shelled. It only became possible for the Wild Animal Rescue team to rescue Rori on 18 January 2023. When found, Rori could not stand, was suffering from serious coordination disorders, likely caused by shell shock. It took Rori two weeks after being rescued to be able to stand on his paws again. Over the past year, he has been slowly getting better and is showing positive dynamics in movements and coordination. Rori has been living alone at Wild Animal Rescue, although he enjoys the outside enclosure in the summer. His coordination issues remain, although they are improving.   
• Vanda – female, approximately one year old. Will be placed at ZOO Planckendael in Belgium until enclosure ready. Rescued from a flat in Southeastern Ukraine. Kept as a family pet, and surrendered when she became too hard to handle. Found with no access to sun, a suitable enclosure and was severely malnourished.  
• Amani and Lira – females, approximately one year old. Will be placed at Pairi Daiza in Belgium until enclosure ready. Rescued from a breeding facility in Ukraine. The sisters were rescued together, where they were found kept in an enclosure with their mother and father. Fortunately, they were able to nurse from their mother which meant they were in fairly good health. When there were no more customers wanting lion cubs due to the war, the breeders ceased business and anonymously called Wild Animal Rescue. Natalia Popova from Wild Animal Rescue went to rescue the two young lionesses and ensured the father was vasectomized (this ensures an active life, but without further breeding). The breeder agreed to keep the parents for the rest of their lives, and Popova confirmed that the enclosure and care provided was sufficient.   
• In October 2022, IFAW started supporting Wild Animal Rescue, a centre operated by Natalia Popova in Kyiv, Ukraine. IFAW’s support includes funding emergency needs during the crisis (such as animal feed, veterinary care, transportation costs for rescue and evacuation missions), improving animal welfare practices (rescue vehicle, transport crates), and facilitating obtaining CITES export permits for the evacuation of animals out of Ukraine. To date, IFAW has supported the rescue, care for and evacuation of 16 big cats and two wolves from Wild Animal Rescue to safe new homes in Europe and elsewhere, with more big cats awaiting onward placements. 

Press contact 

For questions or interviews, please contact:  

Kirsty Warren 
Senior Communications Manager 
+44 (0) 7809 269 747 
kwarren@ifaw.org