A great big kiss for brothers reunited

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Born in a circus in Guatemala, separated as cubs to live at opposite ends of a cage on a truck, then Tomas was sent to a zoo and it seemed certain the boys would never see each other again. But ADI rescued and reunited them at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa. Now each evening as the sun goes down, they march side by side to the far end of Jacque Habitat, bumping heads and settle to bask in the golden rays of the sun.

Never ever give up, because miracles can happen against all odds. There’s evidence of one this evening in the glow of the setting African sun….

Not a care in the world after huge wildfire

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Siblings Africa, Kiara2 and Rolex are clearly relaxed after a huge wildfire was stopped from entering the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday. The alarm was sounded about a fast-moving fire 25 miles away. The ADIWS team loaded our fire fighters and began bringing the lions and tigers into their safe zones. Within 40 minutes 26 lions and tigers were in the feeding camps and the ground was being soaked. Five lions were taking their time coming in – father Leo and children Africa and Kiara2, and Tarzan and Tanya (who never hurry for anyone). Nevertheless the team persevered and everyone was in their safe zones within an hour of the alarm – unsurprisingly, Leo was the last to potter in. Strong winds drove the fire and it reached our north and west perimeters about four hours later, where it was stopped by the brave efforts of our team. See video of the shocking events earlier.

Please support our ongoing investment in fire prevention measures and keep these animals sleeping blissfully. Donate here

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Mighty Kesari

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Kesari makes objects look smaller than they appear. He also doesn’t know his own strength – he leaned against his A frame and it collapsed! Our ADI Wildlife Sanctuary team has since rebuilt it, but it just goes to show how big Kesari is.

The A frames are a favorite among our rescued lions, including Ruben. They provide shade while still allowing the occupants to watch events and feel the breeze, especially now that it’s spring.
Kesari needed a home after he was driven out by his pride at Pretoria Zoo. ADI stepped in to offer him a forever home. He lives in the Joan & Geoff Phillips Habitat and is friends with neighbors Coco and Chino on one side and Simba and ReyA on the other, and one habitat away from his new neighbor, Ruben.

Simba and Rey’s incredible journey

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They were rescued by ADI from a miserable circus cage in the city of Ayacucho high in the Andes mountains, Peru. After a difficult seizure operation our team drove through sleet, rain and snow over the mountains for 20 hours to our Temporary Rescue Unit near Lima. ADI President Jan celebrated a birthday with the lions on the mountain roads. ADI then flew 33 rescued lions from Peru and Colombia to a new life in South Africa.

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David marking his territory

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We’ve all seen our house cats do some form of this, but did you know lions do, too? Here is handsome David scent marking the vegetation in his Camo Habitat.

David was rescued from a circus in Peru where he was used as a prop and had never left his cage. Now at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, he has four acres of space, freedom of choice, and an enriched environment to express his natural behaviors.

To plant more trees and shrubs for David and our other big cats, donate here.

Bonding time with Scarc

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The ADI Wildlife Sanctuary’s Resident Welfare Team (RWT) works to build trust with our rescued lions and tigers. Here Paul is sitting with the magnificent Scarc, rescued from a circus in Peru, just outside his Tohir Habitat. You might recall that Ruben has a team working to create a bond with him.

Each member of the RWT is assigned five residents to work with, spending time sitting with them each week. The aim is to build trust, in order to better care for them, especially when there are medical issues.

Farewell Bumba

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We are heartbroken to report the passing of a giant at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, Bumba, aged around 17 years. On Tuesday, after a loss of appetite and lethargy, Bumba was sedated by Dr Peter Caldwell and taken to hospital. Many of you following on our ‘live’ feeds on veterinary day, saw Dr Caldwell express concern about Bumba’s lungs. Sadly, after blood analysis, x-rays and ultrasounds, the worst was confirmed this morning. Bumba had multiple tumours and his condition would deteriorate rapidly and radically. We took the decision to let a grand old warrior go peacefully. Rescued from a circus in Colombia, he had enjoyed 9 years of love in ADI’s care, most of it home in Africa.

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“Fabulous” – Ruben health update

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“Fabulous” was Dr Peter Caldwell’s reaction to seeing Ruben during our veterinary day at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary yesterday (which many of you watched live on Facebook). Having examined Ruben the day after he arrived from Armenia (and reviewed videos since Ruben’s arrival), Dr Caldwell was pleased with his overall improvement in such a short space of time – can you believe it was 26 days ago he stepped out of his travel crate?

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