CARE
The best possible care for life from our dedicated expert team
Big Cat Lifetime Care
Become an essential part of the
Born Free family
Could you become one of our unique Lifetime Carers?
These exceptional supporters are invaluable, and help provide exclusive care for one of our rescued big cats, for life. When you join this small, select group, you’ll become a big cat guardian, and an essential part our Born Free Family.
Read on to find out more, or contact our Head of High Value Relationships Alisa O’Malley on [email protected] or call 07821 882728.
WATCH: COULD YOU BE A LIFETIME CARER?
Confined, exploited, denied a natural life. It was never meant to be that way for rescued big cats living at our sanctuaries. Could you help offer them dignity, hope and freedom of choice by becoming a lifetime carer?
Where do the cats come from?
Sadly, most have known terrible suffering, rescued from appalling situations and a life of exploitation – including tiny zoo cages, the circus big top, or caught from the wild to be illegally sold as pets. If we could rehabilitate them to live independently in the wild, we would, but for these rescued cats, this is sadly not an option.
Anthea and Raffi in Tenerife
A history of rescue
Born Free’s very first big cat rescue was six tigers from a squalid circus wagon in Kent, flown to a forest sanctuary in India, in 1987. In 1995 we rescued our first lions, Anthea and Raffi, from a squalid rooftop cage in Tenerife, and took them to our sanctuary in South Africa.
Over the years we have rescued and rehomed an incredible 122 big cats – 59 lions, 20 tigers, 14 leopards and 29 cheetahs. We currently provide expert, loving care for life for 21 lions, one tiger, four leopards and seven cheetahs.
What do Lifetime Carers do?
Lifetime Carers make a donation, every year, to fund the care of a chosen, rescued big cat. As a Lifetime Carer, your support will be genuinely life-changing! You’ll transform the life of an individual animal, be the only person helping provide their exclusive care, and become a key member of our dedicated animal care team.
As a Lifetime Carer, you’ll help look after an individual big cat and fund:
NUTRITION
Quality food and nutritional health supplements
HEALTH
Routine health checks and any veterinary treatment needed
STIMULATION
Environmental ‘enrichment’ to keep your chosen cat stimulated and active
SECURITY
Maintenance and security of your chosen cat’s expansive enclosure
MAYBE A VISIT
There may be the chance to visit your big cat*
And you’ll receive:
⚪ An exclusive and personalised full-colour pledge document
⚪ Two unique updates each year of your chosen cat and a gallery of the latest photos
⚪ An annual video of the big cat you help care for, made especially for you
*Please note: We would love the opportunity to invite our Lifetime Carers to visit their big cat in their forever home. Whilst we can welcome Lifetime Carers to Shamwari, Ensessa Kotteh in Ethiopia is currently not set up to receive visitors, but we will provide regular updates including video.
If it is possible for a Lifetime Carer to visit their big cat, the trip would be self-funded, and individuals will need to make their own travel and accommodation arrangements. Visits must be requested via their contact at Born Free, and we will do our best to accommodate the request, but they are not guaranteed.
OUR SANCTUARIES
There are two Born Free sanctuaries that provide a home to rescued big cats, one in South Africa and another in Ethiopia.
Born Free’s Big Cat Sanctuary at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, South Africa
Shamwari's two big cat sanctuaries offer a home for lions and leopards rescued from zoos, circuses, private ownership and other captive facilities.
Ensessa Kotteh, Ethiopia
Ensessa Kotteh is a 190-acre sanctuary near Addis Ababa, which houses wild animals in need – orphaned or confiscated from illegal trade or ownership.
Which big cats need a Lifetime Carer?
Many of our big cats have a kind Lifetime Carer already, but the following lions are looking for a guardian of their own to help them live their best lives.
Amalia (Ensessa Kotteh)
Rescued lioness, born on 27th April 2014.
Amalia was rehomed from a wildlife sanctuary in Djibouti, where she had been receiving dedicated care. Sadly, local authorities insisted that the sanctuary could no longer keep big cats and warned that Amalia would be euthanised if a new home was not found.
With the support of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA), Born Free offered Amalia a safe, lifelong home at Ensessa Kotteh, where she has lived happily since April 2019.
Iman (Ensessa Kotteh)
Rescued lioness, born on 1st February 2019.
Iman was 4-6 weeks old when she was confiscated along with a male cub in March 2019 on the Ethiopian border in Eastern Somaliland. Victims of the illegal wildlife trade, it is suspected that the cubs were taken from their mother in the wild in Ethiopia, and had been destined for the Middle East.
Sadly, the male cub died in April 2019, before he reached Ensessa Kotteh, but since arriving at our sanctuary in August 2019, Iman has flourished!
Ngobi (Ensessa Kotteh)
Rescued lion, born in June 2011.
Rescued as an adult, Ngobi (also known as Dawud) was being temporarily kept at a police station in Jijiga, the capital city of the Somali Region in Ethiopia, having been seized by the authorities. Ngobi was rescued alongside young male lions Rea and Girma, two cheetah and three antelope, and brought to the safety of Ensessa Kotteh in June 2016.
Today Ngobi lives in a spacious enclosure filled with naturally occurring flora and fauna, and enjoys expert care.
Tsar (Shamwari)
Rescued lion, born in a Ukraine zoo in January 2021, with his brother Jamil.
Exploited for tourist photos at an ostrich farm, before being rescued – thin and sickly – by a wildlife centre in Kyiv. With expert care they recovered, but when war broke out were evacuated to Belgium, and given a temporary home with our partners at Natuurhulpcentrum.
In March 2024, Born Free was able to give them a safe and permanent home, together in a spacious enclosure, at our sanctuary in Shamwari.
Jamil (Shamwari)
Rescued lion, born in a Ukraine zoo in January 2021, with his brother Tsar.
Exploited for tourist photos at an ostrich farm, before being rescued – thin and sickly – by a wildlife centre in Kyiv. With expert care they recovered, but when war broke out were evacuated to Belgium, and given a temporary home with our partners at Natuurhulpcentrum.
In March 2024, Born Free was able to give them a safe and permanent home, together in a spacious enclosure, at our sanctuary in Shamwari.
Massaï (awaiting rehoming to Shamwari)
Rescued lioness, born in captivity on 27th March 2015.
Massaï has spent almost her entire life in the circus industry. Lions suffer deprived lives in a circus, cruelly trained to perform unnatural tricks in the noisy big top, constantly on the road, their only home a cramped trailer. Thankfully, she now lives temporarily with our partners at Natuurhulpcentrum, a wildlife centre in Belgium.
Born Free is urgently raising funds to move Massaï to our sanctuary in Shamwari, and give her the loving lifetime care she deserves.
Where did the big cats come from?
Victims of the illegal wildlife trade, or exploited in unsuitable captive settings, they were each rescued or rehomed by Born Free.
Read their poignant stories.
ENSESSA KOTTEH BIG CATS SHAMWARI BIG CATS
Where do the big cats live now?
In spacious natural habitat enclosures, at our world-class rescue centres.
Here they enjoy:
- Grassy space to run
- Dense undergrowth to explore
- Bushes to relax under
- Trees to scratch and scent-mark
- Daily enrichment, such as scent sacks to tussle, or food treats hidden in a cardboard box to explore
We promise:
✔️ Care of your chosen big cat will be exclusive to you
✔️ We’ll come to you first with any important news
✔️ To never ask other donors for funds to help pay for your cat’s care
How much does it cost?
To become a Lifetime Carer and transform the life of a big cat in need costs £5,500 per year at our sanctuary in Shamwari, South Africa, and £18,000 at our Ensessa Kotteh rescue centre in Ethiopia (see footnotes). We understand some people may not be able to commit to support a big cat for the duration of their life, so we ask for a minimum commitment of three years.
To find out more about becoming an exclusive Lifetime Carer please contact our Head of High Value Relationships, Alisa O’Malley, on [email protected] or call 07821 882728.
PLEASE NOTE:
We are fortunate to share the big cat care costs at Shamwari with our long-term partners Shamwari Private Game Reserve, and to receive some donations of food. But at Ensessa Kotteh, we fund the entire care costs for the rescued lions, and have to buy all their food, so consequently their Lifetime Care costs are higher.
In extenuating circumstances, for example a big cat needing surgery, we may fundraise for the costs, but will always ask the Lifetime Carer first.
Donations are eligible to be Gift Aided by UK taxpayers.
Images (c) Peter Ndung’u, Bereket Girma, Lyndon Brandt, Cheetah Conservation Foundation.
Video edited thanks to kind contributors: Natuurhulpcentrum, Fondation 30 Millions d’Amis, Cargolux, Alexandre Blanchon, Hungry Bison Films, Leakey Studios.