Johannesburg - After years of abuse and mistreatment, 33 lions rescued from circuses in South America reached their new home, the Emoya Big Cat Sanctuary in Limpopo, early Monday.
On Saturday night, the lions roared into OR Tambo International Airport as their “Spirit of Freedom Flight” landed after more than 15 hours of travel time.
American-based charity Animal Defenders International (ADI) has been working with Emoya to bring the lions to their new home.
ADI president Jan Creamer said the 33 lions, which were saved from circuses in South America, “have been deprived of everything that makes life worth living for a lion”. Twenty-four of the lions were rescued in surprise raids by the organisation on circuses in Peru, with the help of authorities.
“They were living in de-plorable conditions in cages on the backs of trucks.”
The other nine lions were voluntarily surrendered by a circus in Colombia.
Creamer said that due to their poor physical condition, the lions aren’t able to hunt and will have to be cared for with food and water for the rest of their lives.
The use of wild animals in circuses has been banned in Peru since 2011 and Colombia since 2013. Creamer said that at Emoya, the lions would first be released into bonding camps, the largest enclosures the lions have ever known and “where families will be reintroduced to one another and become familiarised with their new home”.
The second phase is the construction of habitats of between 1 and 2 hectares in size with trees, platforms and watering holes.
“Their forever homes will have natural bush (a separate habitat for each family or pair) with watering holes, platforms, trees and vegetation all safely secure behind double electric fencing (to prevent access by other animals),” she explained.
“There are two large fa-mily prides and several pairs, and some who will be introduced to see if they form a family.
“Some of our older guys, like Ricardo and Joseph, who both have sight problems, will be provided with special enclosures, with anything that could harm them removed,” Creamer said.
ADI and GreaterGood.com ran an online campaign for several months to raise funds for the plane which flew the lions to South Africa.
But there are still challenges ahead: ADI still has to fund the care of these lions for life, “and we are embarking on the next phase of their spacious enclosures”.
On social media, users watched #33lions updates closely. Many were overjoyed by their homecoming.
On Facebook, Lisa Goss welcomed the lions home: “May the African skies fill your heart with all that was taken from you.”
Visit www.lionsbacktoafrica.org for more info.
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