Lion Cubs from War-Torn Ukraine On Their Way to Minnesota Sanctuary

• The war in Ukraine meant that four lion cubs had to leave their home country.
• Tammy Thies, the founder and executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota, said on Wednesday that the four lions, all of which are less than four months old, had left Ukraine and travelled 36 hours to the Poznan Zoo in Poland, where they will stay until they get international transport licences.
• Thies said that the lion cubs have been cared for by the sanctuary for months.

The war in Ukraine meant that four lion cubs had to leave their home country.

Tammy Thies, the founder and executive director of The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota, said on Wednesday that the four lions, all of which are less than four months old, had left Ukraine and travelled 36 hours to the Poznan Zoo in Poland, where they will stay until they get international transport licenses.

Thies said that the lion cubs have been cared for by the sanctuary for months.

“We knew it would be hard, but we wanted to help because there are so many amazing animal warriors on the ground trying to save as many animals as possible,” she wrote. “The International Fund for Animal Welfare contacted us about the cubs because our staff has moved big cats around the world before, but never during a war.”

The announcement said that the permits for other lions showed that they had been given to animal rescue groups.

Thies told CBS Minnesota that three of the four cubs were developed for the pet trade. They were left in a duffel bag at a few weeks old.

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