A Lion Called King
From a dog crate to a Born Free sanctuary in Africa, Dr Chris Draper follows a cub’s journey
King the lion cub was rescued from a filthy dog crate in a Paris apartment, a victim of the illegal pet trade. Born Free first got wind of his plight after he’d been taken to a refuge in Belgium and we decided to relocate him to his African homeland.
When I first saw King in Belgium, he was traumatised and terrified of humans. Just a few months old and shaking with fright, he bolted up a branch and refused to come down. A few weeks later it was a different story. After care from expert staff, he trusted that we wouldn’t hurt him. He became less fearful and much more alert, interested and playful.
The epic journey to our big cat rescue sanctuary at Shamwari Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape of South Africa was a profoundly emotional experience, a highlight of my 18 years working with many species of animals.
It was the first time I’d moved such a vulnerable animal over this distance. I had the comfort of knowing King was going to an idyllic habitat, but the poor little chap didn’t know what was happening! We tried to make the transport as comfortable as possible, but it’s never going to be a natural experience for a big cat to travel in a truck and fly in a plane!
The gruelling transportation stretched over two days and began on the hottest day of the 2018 summer. King was loaded into a cool, sturdy crate and we travelled by lorry through Belgium and France and crossed the English Channel by tunnel.
At Heathrow Airport, I waited with King in the cargo area and checked on him on the Tarmac as we loaded him into the hold of the plane. I was as nervous as if he was my own child. Passengers of that Kenya Airways flight were unaware as they drank their G&Ts that a little lion cub was travelling just a few feet below them!
We flew through the night to Nairobi and on to Johannesburg where our
Some animals can be disorientated but King bounded straight out
precious cargo was transferred to a light plane to fly to Port Elizabeth.
Finally on the last leg of the incredible 6,200-mile journey, we travelled by road to Shamwari.
Next morning at first light we allowed King into his new home. We can get strange reactions from animals as they’re released from a travelling crate. Some refuse to leave the crate and some are disorientated. But King jumped straight out and bounded into his new home. He had never felt grass before and never explored such a vast open space.
The lions in neighbouring enclosures came over to have a look at the little newcomer and started calling to him. We expected him to run in fear but he approached the fence and studied the big male lions. He wasn’t fazed at all. Such a brave little lion!
Everyone was exhausted but relieved and elated! We watched the happy cub for hours, mesmerised as he played with leaves and twigs. Our dedicated animal care team loved him straight away and I knew he was going to be well looked after.
Since then I’ve had glowing reports about his progress. King is thriving alongside other rescued lions and leopards, now living in our sanctuary in natural habitat under the African sun.
The big cats live in massive natural enclosures. We don’t want to keep them in captivity but they would not survive in the wild having not learned hunting or other survival behaviours from their mothers.
For many of our cats at the Shamwari sanctuary, the damage done by early physical abuse and neglect has caused lifetime health problems. One lioness has a wobbly head due to a neurological disorder. Others have stunted growth.
Lions are iconic to Born Free’s history. However we help a wide range of endangered species around the world including tigers, cheetahs, elephants, primates, bears, whales and dolphins.
Our adoption programme is vital. As a charity we rely on people’s generosity to care for King and other rescued animals at our sanctuaries, to campaign for change to the lives of animals in captivity in zoos, circuses and as “exotic pets” and to support our work to keep wildlife where it belongs – in the wild.
African lions are facing a crisis with an alarming drop in their wild population over the last 20 years. King is a little champion – a symbol of hope for all lions.