Two lions rescued from neglected zoos in war zones in Iraq and Syria will start their recovery from physical and psychological trauma at a big cat sanctuary in South Africa.
The male lions have arrived in Johannesburg after leaving an animal refuge in Jordan, The Associated Press quoted Fiona Miles with animal welfare group Four Paws as saying on Monday.
The lions arrived emaciated, dehydrated and psychologically scarred in Jordan last year.
Now 4-year-old Simba and 2-year-old Saeed are headed to the Lionsrock facility near the town of Bethlehem.
Some of the 80 lions at the facility came from a German circus and zoos in France, Romania and Congo. Others are from South African captive-bred lion operations that often earmark the predators for "trophy" killings by customers.
