Baby Lion Rescue in Romania

In April, Wild About Cats was approached via the internet by someone in Romania that had a 10-day old African lion cub on the verge of dying. It was born in a small city zoo to parents that are brother and sister. His sibling died at 3 days and little Leo was not far behind. Her local vet had instructed her to feed it cow’s milk, tea, and honey. We imediately Fedexed her some formula and supplies for proper bottle raising along with helping her with care and development advice. He responded quickly and is now a healthy baby lion. However, we then found out that he has no future at the zoo there. The enclosure would be extremely small, built of concrete and iron bars. Typical of many small third world collections, husbandry is substandard. They have no refrigerator for meat storage and no vet.

Once we learned this, we were sorry for having saved him from death. The thought of Leo existing in these conditions for up to 20 years was unbearable. Placement is in negotiations with a much nicer zoo in Tirgu Mures, Romania, where he is currently being housed.

We know that there are many lions right here in the U.S. that need help also. However, in this country we have access to humane euthanasia and have laws to prevent an animal from long term suffering. We feel responsible for little Leo’s existence, having brought him back from the brink of death. It is the least that we can do to continue to help him by providing him with a worth while future.

Photos