Two lions, Miron and Marek, that had been in a shelter in Ukraine arrived at the Natuurhulpcentrum (Nature Aid Centre) in Oudsbergen on Wednesday after a quarantine period in Poland. They were transferred to their new outdoor enclosure on Thursday morning.
"The animals were in a shelter near Kyiv, which they had to leave because of the war," said biologist Frederik Thoelen of the Natuurhulpcentrum. "They initially stayed in a zoo in Poznań (Poland) while waiting for a solution."
The nature aid centre (in the Limburg province) had been asked to take in Miron and Marek in November. "At that time, we were not yet in a position to do so," said Thoelen. "But our colleagues from the technical department have accelerated the construction of several new enclosures for the big cats."
Once these were completed and the necessary documents were in order, the lions were transferred from Poznań to Oudsbergen.
Both lions are three years old, and appear to be in good health. They were tested for diseases and vaccinated before their arrival in Oudsbergen.
"They are doing well in that respect, but we now need to see how they cope with stress, how they move and check whether they are not suffering from growth retardation. It will take a few weeks before we have a complete picture of their general health," he said.
It is not known how long Miron and Marek will stay in Oudsbergen yet. "We have already started looking for a place that could accommodate them, but we will only be able to really get started on that when we know what is going on," said Thoelen.
"The zoos or parks where they will eventually be transferred also want to know how the animals are behaving, what their general condition is and whether they can accommodate them."
