Lioness Vasylyna was found all alone, surviving the wreckages of war on Ukraine’s streets in the Kharkiv region. The young lioness had escaped from private keeping and found herself all alone, hungry and surrounded by war. Read more about her story here!

Lion Diego was rescued from private ownership in the Czech Republic and taken to a private big cat facility for temporary care in Slovakia. The plan has always been to move him to a sanctuary, but despite many efforts, Diego was not been able to find a species-appropriate home where he can get the care he deserves – until now. Read more about his story here!

Lion Simba  († 2025) reached the news at the end of 2020 when he was used for pictures and a video clip by a Romanian artist. The material was shared on social media and since he was clearly injured, many people in Romania were shocked about it and this led to a public outburst. Luckily we could rescue him, his sister lioness Elza and five other siblings. Read more about their story here! 

In January 2022 FOUR PAWS was contacted by the local authorities of Montenegro about a illegally kept lion cub that had escaped from private keeping and was roaming the streets near Budva on the Adriatic coast. After 10 days the starved and exhausted lion cub, who got the name Nikola, was rescued and brought to a temporary safe place. Read more about his journey here!

Lion Bobby († 2024) was together with the lions Zhaku and Lenci, rescued from Safari Park Zoo Fier in Albania by FOUR PAWS. This zoo was known as “Europe’s worst zoo”. His battered nose is a sad reminder of his difficult life in Albania.

Lioness Manuschka was only 3 months old when she was separated from her family and sold with her half-brother to a German circus. For years, she was forced to perform tricks in the circus. After the unexpected death of her companion the young lioness found herself scared and alone awaiting her uncertain future. Read more about her journey here!

Since FOUR PAWS has taken over the big cat centre in the Netherlands and named it FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary, a total of 20 animals have been brought to LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary, our sanctuary for rescued big cats in South Africa. Get to know the animals that made the journey from FELIDA to LIONSROCK. Discover here!