Kimba and Tomas see in the New Year basking in the sunshine, amongst the flowers of Augie Habitat at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa. Many of the lions like to spend their mornings up on the platforms or lazing out in the most open parts of the habitats like this. The brothers were recently reunited having been separated as cubs in a circus in Guatemala.

One of the greatest cruelties of captive wildlife is the isolation of the victims. Living without anyone of their own kind. Ending the loneliness is one of our missions and in 2022, we began Operation Lonely Hearts at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary to bring together solitary animals. We saw the magic when Easy, a circus survivor from Colombia (who had lost her sister Shakira) and David, a circus survivor from Peru (who lost his sister Rapunzel) became best of friends. Lion brothers Tomas and Kimba were reunited after being separated as cubs in a circus in Guatemala.

It’s the news we have all been waiting for: Lions Kimba and Tomas are together! The boys were born in the same circus in Guatemala but are not believed to have been together before.

When Guatemala banned animals in circuses, Tomas was handed over to a zoo and a few months later ADI arrived in Guatemala and removed all of the remaining lions from the circus. Kimba would be heading to a new life in Africa but Tomas seemed to have missed out. Then, the ADI Temporary Rescue Unit received a call that the zoo no longer had room for Tomas and he would be dropped off in the next 25 minutes! Space was hastily prepared for him and 18 months later both lions were on a flight to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, South Africa.

Months of careful preparation have gone into the integration with the boys rotating in the same spaces, eating, separated, alongside each other and receiving doses of the natural ‘love’ hormone oxytocin before enjoying treats and toys in separate rooms in the house. Once the brothers were released into the same area they quickly settled and slept snuggled up together. They are currently being observed day and night in their feeding camp and house, they have generally stayed close to each other, and will be released into the main Augie Habitat in the coming days.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS TOMAS AND KIMBA!