Losing our beloved OJ has been heart-breaking for everyone at ADIWS, but none more so than his lifelong friend, Iron.

OJ and Iron were constant companions – they had been through years of suffering in the circus in Colombia, before living peacefully and happily together in the natural habitats at the ADIWS in South Africa. They were rarely apart. When one went under a tree, the other followed.

With Iron left without OJ, we have started working through the bereavement protocols, more attention, more enrichment – but long term, what he needs is the companionship of his own kind. Lions especially, are extremely social animals, and this is the first time in Iron’s life, that he has been alone.

We urgently need your help to make this happen.

Now that Iron is on his own, we hope to bring him together with Bolillo. ADI rescued all three from the same circus, and they have been in next door cages.

Introducing lions is by nature an unrushed, cautious process, and care is needed to get them near each other safely, a space where they can have protected contact. We cannot guarantee that Iron and Bolillo will be the right match, but we cannot start the process without the right facilities.

We can do this by building partitions into the lion and tiger houses.

We make individual rooms where the cats can see each other, communicate, rub together, eat and sleep together, while occupying separate rooms with mesh walls. We can then see how they like each other.

Sadly, the pandemic stopped this important building work in its tracks.

We have 17 lion and tiger houses but only 2 are fitted with the internal walls to make these rooms with doors, drop gates and feeding hatches. We need to raise at least £50,000 to get the job done – over £3,300 per house.

Let’s start with a house in which Bolillo and Iron can be introduced.

Every donation helps give our lions and tigers the lives they deserve.

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