Three lions from Ukraine found refuge in an animal park in Burgundy

A refuge after eighty-eight hours of traveling in vans from Poland. A lion and two lionesses arrived on Friday January 26 at the Auxois Animal Park, in Arnay-sous-Vitteaux (Côte d’Or), after being rescued from the war in Ukraine. The felines were first rescued by the Wild Animal Rescue association in a shelter near kyiv, while they found a place in a park in Europe.

Atlas is a two and a half year old lion. “He comes from around kyiv and was collected from a woman who had him as a child, before determining that he was becoming too aggressive, perhaps because of the bombings”, explained Charlotte von Croÿ, emergency relief officer at the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). It was this American association which ensured the transfer of the felines.

The two lionesses, Luladja and Queen, are approximately two years old. They were, for their part, recovered in eastern Ukraine, probably from individuals who had fled the war, according to Charlotte von Croÿ. An international appeal had been launched to welcome them, to which the Parc de l’Auxois responded favorably. The 40-hectare center, which has about 500 animals, was searching for a lion after its own died last summer. The three lions will join another lioness, already present in the animal park.