Ori was always the shy, quiet one of the two young lions who arrived at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary from Israel last week. The team from Israel’s Nature & Parks Authority and the zoo that cared for him said that it was thanks to BenTzur, acting as a big brother, that Ori had first started to gain some confidence. During last week’s journey with the ADI team, BenTzur was full of confidence whereas Ori was wary.

When we arrived at the Sanctuary and released the boys into their house, we wondered, would Ori take his time, sit looking from his travel crate, waiting to come out? Sometimes the travel crate can become a safe, good place to defend yourself, if suddenly you arrive at unfamiliar surroundings. But no, Ori bounded out as soon as he saw BenTzur and they soon cuddled up together for the night. Since then, we have been delighted with how rapidly Ori’s confidence has grown. He often led the way as the two lions mapped out their new territory, and it was Ori who grabbed the catnip and hay sack and took his prize into the house where he shared it with BenTzur.

Now look at how he gets to grips with this hay filled box. Everyone knows cats love boxes and lions are no exception. We think that’s a very happy lion face as he pins down the box and starts to tear it apart, what do you think?