Animal Defenders International (ADI) works to free wild animals from unnatural living conditions. They support wildlife shelters and opened their own preserve in South Africa. When Peru banned circuses from using wild animals, compliance was slow. ADI tracked down one circus high in the Andes and took two lions, brothers named Rey and Simba. It was a monumental task, involving a fight with the circus, a 19-hour drive to Lima, and then two years of paperwork, and an intercontinental flight taking 33 lions to South Africa. But after all that work, it was a joy to see Rey and Simba getting to walk on grass and explore their roomy new stomping grounds in the place they belong. These lions are bonded to each other for life. They know what they've been through together.
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
Rey and Simba
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That's great for the two elderly big cats, at least in the end. But it sure looks like the local people in the Andes were not happy with these lily-White Europeans invading their community and taking away THEIR lions. The word neocolonialism comes to mind. Also I noticed the cats don't have freedom exactly, but they appear to have a much bigger enclosure. After all, they are unlikely to be able to survive in the bush on their own.
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