A pride of lions rescued from the horrors of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and transported to Yorkshire is now even bigger after being joined by some new arrivals
Yorkshire Wildlife Park: Lioness rescued from Ukraine welcomes cubs
A lioness rescued from war torn Ukraine now has an even bigger family after giving birth to three cubs at her new home in Yorkshire. Against all odds mum Aysa survived after being rescued from the bombs in Ukraine and taken to Poland, where she spent months separated from her three youngsters Teddi, Emi and Santa. The cubs were left cowering in a small holding cell. next to her They could hear their mum next door but were unable to see her.
Last March, mum and her cubs, then aged 18 months old and having not seen the sky, completed a 2,000 mile trek across six countries to reach safety away from Putin’s bombs, arriving at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster. Since then they have been thriving after being reunited as a Pride.
But this week, almost a year after their rescue, Aysa left her handlers in “deep shock” as she gave birth to three cubs – her birth control had failed. Her three new cubs were born late on Monday and all are healthy and suckling on their “attentive” mum. Dr Charlotte McDonald told The Mirror: “These cubs will have a better start in life than their older siblings did and that’s what we want for them. It was a very pleasant surprise but one I would rather not have had.
“People might say ‘why didn’t we keep the males separate from the girls if we thought that this might be a risk?’ But it’s because they are a social species and to isolate Teddi until he was old enough to be vasectomised would have just been awful for him and absolutely would have compromised his welfare.
“You’ve got to weigh up the balance in terms of the type of contraception and everything that you choose in order to keep these animals together. They had such a rough start in life, this little family, to split them up again would have just been horrendous.
“We now have a bigger family, not a little family any more, but you know they are a family and they will have a home here at Yorkshire Wildlife Park forever. This is their forever home. We have absolutely no further intention of breeding any more. They will have a good life here. “
Joint founder of YWP, Cheryl Williams MBE, added: “We have to be positive and move forward and look forward to the summer and sunshine and to them being happy, healthy and strong. Eventually moving forward they will be out in Lion Country and I’m sure everyone will embrace them like we do.”
Dr McDonald explained all three females were placed on contraception after arriving at the park but they had to wait to give Teddi a vasectomy until he was older, while he physically matured. Otherwise there would have been a risk interrupting his development, including the growth of his mane. Last September he underwent the procedure but later Lab results showed it had only been fully successful on one side. In December he had a second vasectomy.
All the females remained on contraception throughout, the Dr explained, adding conception must have been between his two vasectomies. The Dr said: “But he obviously caught her between those times, unfortunately even in humans we understand no contraception is 100% foolproof. Most contraceptives are only 99% guaranteed. So, against all the odds, it would appear that he’s managed to catch the 1% that didn’t work.
“The keepers were saying for a while they thought she was pregnant, but we would go and have a look and it was difficult to be sure because she had cubs before and had quite a saggy tummy anyway. Then the movement in her tummy started…’
Bex Brown, Section Head of Carnivores she was “shocked” to discover the pregnancy and relieved her labour went so well and she is a good mum: “I was definitely shocked but she’s an experienced mum and we monitored her through the labour. Big cats often wait for the evening but she is quite comfortable here so she went into labour during the day. She is being very attentive. All three look very strong and she doesn’t leave their side. She’s very relaxed and very motherly.
“If one wriggles too far she brings it back and gives it a good clean. She also manoeuvres herself too, so they can all suckle well. Kyiv must have been traumatic for them but here it’s as nice and comfortable and peaceful as it can be. “
Mum and her newborns are in the nursery den together and her older cubs, now two years old, are currently in pens nearby “taking interest” in the new arrivals. The pride are expected to be reunited in the future and are to be living together.
“Santa, the biggest female, is definitely aware and would like to get in there and do a bit of mothering herself. They are all little fluffballs at the moment with their eyes still closed. We are leaving mum so we don’t know what sex they are yet.’ But we do know their future in Yorkshire is bright.”
