Adorable moment pride of lions rescued from Ukraine war celebrate first Christmas in UK
Adorable moment pride of lions rescued from Ukraine war celebrate first Christmas in UK
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A family of lions freed from Ukraine have enjoyed their first Christmas at their new home. The playful pride, who arrived at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in March, have a growing fan club since the Mirror revealed their story. This week, they were happily playing with their Christmas present of a yellow egg-shaped ball. Colin Northcott, 60, one of the park’s carnivore experts, travelled to Poland to bring the rescued lions to Doncaster, South Yorks.
He said: “I’m chuffed to bits with them. They have settled in fantastically well and you’d think they’d been here forever. They were indoors when they were in Poland and a few weeks ago they saw their first flurry of snow... and ignored it. They all sleep together – ever since they were first reunited here. They are just a hugely happy group of lions who are loving life at the moment.”.
The lions ended up at Poznan Zoo in Poland after they were abandoned by the owners of a private zoo in Donetsk, Ukraine, who fled as bombs fell around them after the Russian invasion. When they eventually arrived in Yorkshire, they were able to run in a straight line for the first time in their lives and see the sky.
Initially, they were obsessed with birds and little visitors to the park. But now six-year-old Aysa and her three cubs, Emi, Santa and Teddi, who are two, ignore the visitors and instead spend their time tumbling around and playing together. In Poland, the cubs were in one tiny pen, cowering and their mum was next door. They could hear and smell but not see each other.
