WATCH | Taste of freedom in SA for lions rescued from hell

Four lions rescued from hellish conditions in captivity in Ukraine have arrived at the Kragga Kamma Game Park in Port Elizabeth.

The cats were flown into Port Elizabeth on Wednesday evening and trucked to the park.

They spent the night in a protective night house, before being released into their spacious new home, a 1,500m² enclosure with two berms, aloes and other indigenous vegetation, boulders and a waterhole, on Thursday.

“They’ve been used to a much smaller space, so we felt they needed the night house to transition from, and to retreat to, if need be,” park co-owner Ayesha Cantor said.

“When the young male came out this morning, he just dived into the grass and sand.

“The three females all explored a bit, but in the late morning, after eating, they went back inside the night house.

“I think the change in their environment has been so mind-boggling that, for now, they feel more secure there.”

The lions were rescued by Lionel de Lange, director of the Ukrainian branch of the Lawrence Anthony Earth Organisation.

- HeraldLIVE