Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

Aslan and Stella

Date of birth:        

Aslan ♂ – estimated 1989

Stella ♀ – estimated 1990

Species: lion (Panthera leo)

This pair are the oldest lions at the Born Free Centres.  They are still going strong though!  Both were rescued from Greece, from two different run-down zoos.  Aslan arrived at Shamwari in 1999; Stella in 2001. 

Aslan was originally rescued with his mate, Gilda, from a small, barren, heavily barred cage in Athens’ National Park zoo.  Two lions in the zoo had died from eating poisoned rats, so Born Free urgently wanted to get Aslan and Gilda out.  We were helped by Challenge Anneka, a BBC ‘fix-it’ programme and the lions initially came to Born Free’s sanctuary in England, on 26^th July, 1995. 

Then Shamwari’s founder Adrian Gardener offered them much bigger and more natural conditions at Shamwari, and they were transferred here on 20^th September 1999.  Aslan and Gilda had 15 happy months together at Shamwari.  But sadly, Gilda became ill and had to be euthanased on 9^th January, 2001.  Post-mortem results showed she had cystic ovaries. 

Poor Aslan grieved so much for Gilda that much of his magnificent mane fell out.  Then, September 2002, we were able to introduce him to Stella, rescued from Florina Zoo in northern Greece.  By then Aslan’s mane had grown back.  Interestingly enough, from being a very dark-maned lion, his new mane grew back blonde!

Aslan in particular is a very private lion and does not like humans very much; Stella was so terrified of people in her previous home she would climb the walls trying to escape.  So, on some days when we sense the pair just want to enjoy their privacy we will not take guests to their visitor platforms.  However, you may be lucky enough to hear Aslan’s powerful territorial roars, which can be heard as far away as Shamwari’s lodges at Riverdene and Longlee!

The Leopard Triplets

Names: Sami ♂ Alam ♂ Nimira ♀

Date of birth: estimated  15^th March 2001

Species: leopard (Panthera pardus)

These leopards were found motherless, by soldiers in the Sudan in North Africa.  When the soldiers realised they couldn’t care for the un-weaned cubs, they packaged them up in a box and sent them to the offices of Lundin Oil.  The cubs were in a very poor condition but staff at Lundin Oil nursed them back to health.  Virginia Lundin contacted Born Free, asking if we could find a home for the cubs.  With Shamwari we offered to take in the triplets at the Julie Ward Centre.  Virginia worked hard at fund-raising for the costs and their care and the young leopards arrived at Shamwari on 3^rd July 2001.

It would be unusual if you don’t catch sight Alam, Sami and Nimira.  These leopards were hand-reared and still very much enjoy human company.  In fact, sadly, you may see Nimira pacing along the fence, wishing she could come out and join us.  This is a sad legacy many hand-reared animals are left with.  In the case of Nimira and her brothers, hand-rearing was the only option.  However, on some lion-breeding farms, or in circuses, for example, cubs are deliberately removed from their mother at a few days old, to make them safe to handle by tourists and by their trainers.  Many are then discarded when they grow older and more dangerous.  Fortunately with Nimira her pacing behaviour stops as soon as visitors leave the platform, and she then goes off to play with her brothers.

Unfortunately it is not possible to return the cubs to the wild in the reserve here.  Shamwari would not be given permission and as the cubs are too human-friendly they could become a danger.  We recognise captivity is second-best for these wild-born animals – but at Shamwari they are offered an excellent home.

The young leopards were all neutered to stop sexual aggression and territorial behaviour developing, and the three remain affectionate playmates.

Ma Juah

Ma Juah ♀

Date of birth: estimated 1997

Species: lion (Panthera leo)                

When former Liberian President Charles Taylor fled to Nigeria in 2003, he left behind a desperate, crippled country suffering the disastrous effects of two decades of brutal civil war.  He also left behind Ma Juah, a seven-year old lioness that Taylor kept in his private zoo.

She was discovered when UNMIL¹, the United Nations peacekeeping mission, arrived in Liberia.  It discovered the abandoned zoo and learnt that most of the animals had been killed for food by the hungry people, or had escaped during the fighting.  Ma Juah (which means ‘mother of the mother’) and her brother remained in the zoo but without food.  Ma Juah went without food for 23 days at one point and her brother sadly starved to death.  The keepers struggled to keep her alive, giving her meat when they had little for themselves.  UNMIL contacted primatologist Dr Jane Goodall for advice and she put them in touch with Born Free.

Born Free and its affiliate Born Free USA mounted a rescue mission to bring Ma Juah to Shamwari and she arrived on 1^st August 2004.

Ma Juah appears to be suffering from ‘nutritional osteodystrophy’ - usually due to a poor early diet.  Her back sags and her legs do not rotate properly.  There also seems to be some neurological damage: she used to twitch and ‘star gaze’ and have mini fits, but this is rarely seen now.  Her condition can never be cured but with proper feeding and expert care she is enjoying a very good quality of life.  Ma Juah would have been destined for a solitary existence, hard for a social cat like a lion, as her bizarre behaviour and gait might stimulate another lion to attack.  However, co-incidently, Born Free rescued a lioness from Romania suffering a similar condition.  The two lions have been successfully introduced and developed a very close bond.

¹United Nations Mission in Liberia

Achee

Name: Achee ♀

Date of birth: estimated 2001

Species: lion (Panthera leo)                

Achee (‘Ah-kee’) was the pet lion of the Cypriot Consul in Romania.  Rescued as a cub from a photographer in the mountains, she was very much loved.  However, the lean meat diet given to the fussy Achee was lacking in necessary vitamins and minerals.  No-one was aware that Achee was developing nutritional osteodystrophy (see Ma Juah, previous page).

As Achee grew it was obvious her enclosure in the Consul car park was no longer safe for a fully grown lion and Born Free was asked to help rehome her.  She arrived at Shamwari on 9^th September 2004.  Her condition has improved dramatically and she is now a strong, powerful and playful lioness.

We know some guests have been disturbed by the unsteady gait and head-wobbling Achee and Ma Juah sometimes display, and have questioned if it is kind keeping them alive.  Our day-to-day observations of these lionesses lead us to believe they have a good quality of life and do not appear to be suffering.  In Romania Achee used to wrestle and play football with the young man who cared for her at the Consul, and Achee and Ma Juah will play rough games with each other now.  They both appear very fit and well.  Seeing the close, affectionate relationship these lions have with each other, and the pleasure they seem to derive from their lives at Shamwari, we strongly feel that they are enjoying a good quality of life.

Sinbad

Name: Sinbad ♂

Date of birth: estimated 2001

Species: lion (Panthera leo)

Sinbad was rescued from a closed zoo in Romania.  He had been used by a beach photographer on the beaches of Constantia, to attract tourists into having their photo taken with a cuddly cub.  When he grew too dangerous for this work he was sold to a local hotel owner who took pity on him, but then Sinbad had to be passed on to a municipal park in the town of Bacau in north east Romania.  A small enclosure was made for him to live in. 

For two years of his time in the zoo he had a female companion but she died and for the next two years he lived alone.  He appeared to be kindly treated by the park staff, and was playful and human friendly.  However, the conditions were very basic and inadequate and the sandy floor of his enclosure became a muddy mess in winter, soaking his beautiful mane.  His diet was poor in vitamins and minerals and Sinbad is half the size of a normal lion.  His spine is a little sunken and he is weak on his back legs.  His canines have been worn down to stumps, which gives him some difficulty in eating.  It doesn’t stop him feeding though, and he very much enjoys his food!

Sinbad arrived at Shamwari on 2nd August 2007.  His balanced diet and exercise appear to be strengthening his muscles, making his skeletal deformities less obvious.

The Leopard Cubs

Pitou ♀ and Sirius ♂

Date of birth - estimated 1991

Species: leopard (Panthera pardus)

Pitou and Sirius, brother and sister were ex-circus leopards.  They then spent 10 years in a private zoo in Monaco in Europe that belonged to His Serene Highness, Prince Rainier II.

The conditions were cramped on the cliff-face zoo and Born Free’s founder, Virginia McKenna had tried for many years to persuade Prince Rainier to close his zoo, without success.  However, Virginia did not give up and eventually had the opportunity to meet the late Prince Rainier’s son, Prince Albert II. 

Prince Albert, a keen and active environmentalist, appreciated that now there was more known about the needs of captive wildlife.  He acknowledged his father had become concerned about the zoo and was pleased to have the opportunity to rehome the leopards to more suitable conditions.  “I am delighted the Born Free Foundation has offered to return these wonderful and complex animals to their native Africa… It’s time to rethink the mission of zoos, particularly when we can now see the wonder of animal life in documentaries.” 

Pitou and Sirius arrived at Shamwari on 9^th January 2008.

Initially they were very nervous about the lush new world they could see outside their travelling crates and took many minutes to emerge. They spent the next four weeks laying low in the undergrowth then slowly began to relax.  Pitou has now bonded with the team who care for her, but her brother Sirius prefers to remain hidden in the undergrowth, and take his food when no-one is around.