2 lions from Mideast war zones reach South African refuge
Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Updated 1:46 pm, Monday, February 26, 2018
IMAGE 1 OF 15 A 4-year-old lion named Simba, who was rescued from Syria by the animal rights group Four Paws, is released into an enclosure at the Lionsrock Lodge and Big Cat Sanctuary in Bethlehem, South Africa? in Bethlehem, South Africa, Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. Two lions rescued from neglected zoos in war zones in Iraq and Syria were transported to South Africa on Monday to live at a sanctuary with other animals that survived harsh conditions in captivity elsewhere in the world.
LIONSROCK BIG CAT SANCTUARY, South Africa (AP) — Two lions rescued from neglected zoos in war zones in Iraq and Syria arrived in South Africa on Monday to live at a sanctuary with other animals that survived harsh conditions in captivity elsewhere in the world.
The male lions were transported in metal crates on a Qatar Airways flight after leaving an animal refuge in Jordan on Sunday. They were loaded onto vehicles for a drive of several hours to their new home at the Lionsrock facility near the town of Bethlehem. The lions emerged into separate grassy enclosures, and other lions behind nearby fences let out deep-throated growls and moans.
"They are already saying, 'Hello,'" said Hildegard Pirker, head of the animal welfare department at Lionsrock. As one of the new arrivals bounded around his new home, Pirker said: "You're in Africa, finally."
Born in captivity, the lions had never been on the continent. They were emaciated and dehydrated after the international animal welfare group Four Paws extracted them from a zoo in eastern Mosul in Iraq and an amusement park near Aleppo in Syria. The two cities have experienced some of the worst fighting that has hit both countries in recent years, killing large numbers of people and leaving neighborhoods in ruins.
More:
https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/2-lions-from-Mideast-war-zones-head-to-South-12708393.php
= new reply since forum marked as read
Back when we first invaded Iraq, I remember reading about the poor animals trapped in zoos there and I panicked about them being trapped and abandoned. I immediately emailed both HSUS and ASPCA and I actually got a response back from a woman at HSUS who said they planned on going in to rescue these animals as soon as conditions were safe. Because of that, I chose HSUS to automatically contribute to every month. 
