A Lion Cub Evacuated From Lebanon To A South African Sanctuary Escapes Airstrikes And Abuse

Beirut: When Sara first arrived at her rescuers’ home, she was sick, tired, and was covered in ringworms and signs of abuse all over her little furry body.

After spending two months in a small Beirut apartment with an animal rights group, four-and-half-month-old lion cub arrived Friday at a wildlife sanctuary in South Africa after a long journey on a yacht and planes, escaping both Israeli airstrikes and abusive owners.

Evacuations Amid Conflict

Sara is fifth lion cub to be evacuated from Lebanon by local rescue group Animals Lebanon since Hezbollah and Israel began exchanging fire a day after Oct. 7 attack in sourn Israel by Hamas that ignited war in Gaza last year.

Discovered on Social Media

Animals Lebanon first discovered Sara on social media channels in July. Her owner, a Lebanese man in ancient city of Baalbek, posted bombastic videos of himself paring with little lion cub on TikTok and Instagram. Under Lebanese law, it is prohibited to own wild and exotic animals.

lion cub was “really just being used as showing off,” said Jason Mier, executive director of Animals Lebanon.

Rescue Operation

In mid-September, group finally retrieved her after filing a case with police and judiciary, who interrogated her owner and forced him to give up feline. Soon after that, Israel launched an offensive against Lebanese militant group Hezbollah - after nearly a year of low-level conflict - and Baalbek came under heavy bombardment.

Mier and his team were able to extract Sara from Baalbek weeks before Israel launched its aerial bombardment campaign on ancient city, and move her to an apartment in Beirut’s busy commercial Hamra district.

She was supposed to fly to South Africa in October, but international airlines stopped flights to Lebanon as Israeli jets and drones hit sites close to country’s only airport.

Escalating Conflict

Hezbollah began firing rockets across border into Israel in support of its ally, Hamas, on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after Palestinian militants staged dely surprise incursion into sourn Israel. Israel responded with shelling and airstrikes. Beginning in mid-September, Israel launched an intense aerial bombardment of much of Lebanon, followed by a ground invasion.

Animals Lebanon’s Ongoing Efforts

Before conflict, Animals Lebanon was active in halting animal trafficking and exotic pet tre, saving over two dozen big cats from imprisonment in lavish homes and sending m to wildlife sanctuaries. Since war started, Animals Lebanon has also been rescuing pets that have been trapped in damaged apartments as hundreds of thousands of Lebanese fled bombardment - almost 1,000 over past month alone.

“Lots are still in our care because owners of se animals are still displaced,” Mier said. “So we can’t expect person to take this animal back when he might be living on street or in a school.”

Before conflict escalated, rights group was able to move around country more freely as fighting largely remained in sourn Lebanon along border with Israel. But things became more difficult as airstrikes became more frequent and spre over wider swas of country.

Sara’s New Beginning

Unaware of war around her, Sara thrived. She was fed a platter of raw meat daily and grew to 40 kilograms (88 pounds). She cuddled every morning with Mier’s wife Maggie, also an animal rights activist.

But activists faced a major obstacle: How would y get her out of Lebanon? Animals Lebanon collected donations from supporters and rights groups around world to put Sara on a small yacht to take her to Cyprus. From re, she flew to United Arab Emirates before her long journey ended in Cape Town.

Saying Goodbye

Days before her evacuation, Sara played in one of bedrooms at Mier’s apartment, with cushions and chew toys scattered. Thursday at dawn, she arrived to port of Dbayeh, just north of Beirut. Mier and his team were relieved, but also struggling to hold back ir tears at her departure.

A Future in a Wildlife Sanctuary

Mier anticipates Sara will be held for monitoring and disease-control, but soon will be part of a community of or lions.

“n she’ll be integrated with two recent lions that we’ve sent from Lebanon, so she’ll make a nice group of three hopefully,” he said. “That’s where she will live out rest of her life. That is best option for her.”