Born Free Foundation - Keep Wildlife in the Wild

The Born Free Foundation is to rescue  two little lions cubs from Romania. 

The abandoned cubs have found a temporary caring home with the team at  the Romanian Alliance for the Protection of Animals – APAR.  It is estimated the cubs were born at the end of November last year.  The two little sisters were in poor health when they came to their new foster mum, Monica Minciu, President of  APAR, and were dehydrated from diarrhoea and with swollen tummies.  However, thanks to the love and care they have received they are now boisterous and energetic: their temporary home is Monica's bedroom where they have torn wallpaper off the walls, and used the bedroom furniture as an obstacle course and scratching posts.  They have also tried stalking and chasing Jessie, Monica’s lovely little cocker spaniel, so poor Jessie has had to been banned from her favourite spot on Monica’s bed. 

Lifetime care has been offered for the cubs at the Born Free / Shamwari sanctuary within Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa.  However, the cubs are too young to make such a long journey yet, so a temporary home has been offered for them at the GSPCA quarantine facilities in Guernsey.  GSPCA President and Born Free’s vet consultant, John Knight has been advising on the conversion of the 8ft x 4ft heated house and 40ft x 8ft run into a cosy sleeping room and playpen for the cubs.  A huge log that took four people to lift has been put in the pen for scratching and clambering over, a buoy has been suspended on a chain from a metal chain, an old tyre to attack – lots of toys and diversions that will help build up their strength and co-ordination – and hopefully dissipate their seemingly endless supplies of energy! 

In Romania there is a major problem with cubs being bred to surplus, as a result of uncontrolled breeding.  With no room for the cubs in the cramped cages, they are often sold on illegally to different individuals who use them to entice tourists to have their photo taken with the little cubs. The photographers, to be found at popular beach or mountain resorts in Romania , will often drug the cubs and remove their claws, to make them safe for the unsuspecting tourist to handle.  Even so, when the cubs are five to six months old they are too powerful to be used in this way and they disappear.  No-one knows what happens to them. 

So, these two little girls have probably had a lucky escape. The APAR team has found caring for the cubs an exhausting but rewarding experience.  Monica will be very sad to see them go though she knows it is the best for them. Ionut Lesovici, Project Manager for APAR, says that  what motivates them in the struggle to rescue these lions is the image of the two little cubs growing and living in their home land, running through the bushes, laying down under the African sun.