Our animals

Meet ADI Wildlife Sanctuary’s residents!

You can adopt your favorite from just $5/£3.50 per month ($60 / £42 per year) and help ADI provide the ongoing care these animals need. As an adopter you will receive an adoption certificate, ADI Rescuer newsletter, rescue updates, a beautiful photograph of your adopted animal each year (suitable for framing), and ADI publications. Silver adopters also receive our special ADI Rescuer tshirt; Gold adopters an ADI rescued animal canvas print AND Rescuer tshirt!

Full annual sponsorships are also available for each animal. This would include food, supplements, veterinary care, animal care staff, security and maintenance of your cat’s habitat. Please contact us for details if you or your business/organization are interested in sponsoring a big cat.

Read on to learn more about the animals and click the name on their image to adopt.

Goliath and Coralie: Our newest residents! (Siddhi Quarantine Habitat)

Lions Goliath and Coralie lived more than a decade in a cramped, bare circus cage on the back of a truck, touring France. Now, thanks to new regulations aimed at ending the use of wild animals in circuses, the doting pair of lions have been removed from the circus and are now at the Sanctuary, arriving in May 2025.

Rescued during Operation Spirit of Freedom, Colombia & Peru

Operation Spirit of Freedom was the largest rescue of its kind, ADI helping wildlife officials to enforce legislation ending the use of wild animals in circuses. Nearly 100 animals, who all suffered terribly at the hands of humans, were saved – including the following:

Africa, Kiara2 and Rolex (Davis Habitat), Coco and Chino (Kornberg Habitat)
During a difficult seizure ADI was forced to take only Rolex, Coco and Chino from a circus in Huaral, Peru. It was several months later before ADI caught up with the same circus, rescuing the rest of the family, lionesses Africa and Kiara2.

Rey and Simba (Guibord-Sprague Habitat)
An angry mob surrounded ADI as we seized Rey and Simba from a circus in Ayacucho, Peru. The brothers took the 19-hour journey to the ADI rescue center in their stride, snuggling up together on a deep bed of hay as we drove over the Andes through rain, sleet and snow.

Rey (Stephanides Habitat), Smith (Sam and Eric Habitat), Kiara1, Scarc, and Mahla (Tohir Habitat)
The most difficult seizure of the mission, at first the circus in Cusco, Peru, would only give Kiara1 and Rey into our care. It took near tragedy and negative global media attention to turn things around. In an incredibly irresponsible act, the circus invited a local school teacher into the ring to take part in a performance by Smith. Already distressed from being separated from his companion Amazonas, Smith behaved as a lion would and pounced on the teacher, dragging her round like a ragdoll. Caught on film, the images raced around the world. Thankfully, the teacher was not seriously harmed in the attack, but angry members of the public called for Smith to be killed. ADI sprung into action and successfully fought to save him – the circus additionally agreed to surrender the two cubs, Scarc and Mahla. After crying for her babies for days following their separation, mother Kiara was overjoyed to be reunited with them.

David (Camo Habitat)
After weeks of hiding out in the jungle, the circus with the last illegal lions in its possession was finally tracked down in Arequipa, Peru. It was too late to save father Muñeco, who had died from a parasite, but the circus owner agreed to give up David and promised ADI that his circus would remain animal free.

Rescued from Pretoria Zoo

Kesari (Phillips Habitat)
Kesari had been unable to join a family group at Pretoria Zoo and was living alone. The Zoo did not want to put him up for auction in case he arrived in the sights of a trophy hunter, and so waited two years until our friends at Captured In Africa Foundation contacted ADI as we were building ADIWS in 2019 and we gave him his forever home. Shy and cautious when he arrived at the sanctuary, he has grown in confidence. Our largest lion resident, Kesari spends his days lounging, roaming his 2.5 acre habitat, and joining the lion song with that incredible roar he kept hidden for his first few days! Learn more about Kesari’s story here.

Rescued during Operation Liberty, Guatemala

Like Spirit of Freedom, ADI helped enforce legislation which bans ALL animal circus acts in Guatemala during Operation Liberty. Lions and tigers rescued during the mission and relocated to the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary are:

Sasha (Jacque Habitat), Kimba and Tomas (Avi Habitat)
Kimba and Sasha were the first animals to be removed from one of the circuses following the ban. Circo Navarro surrendered their animals voluntarily, and described its new animal-free status as “a new chapter”. A few months later, the lions’ brother, Tomas, arrived suddenly at our temporary rescue center; he’d been handed to a zoo, but they could no longer care for him.

Lupe, Max and Stripes (Kakato Habitat)
The circus refused to relinquish tigers Lupe and at-the-time cubs Max and Stripes when ADI removed two lions and nine other tigers. Vowing not to leave them behind and working with the authorities, ADI removed the tigers five months later – the last animals in that circus.

Sun, Moon, Luna (Tiger Territory)
Sun, Moon, and Luna were voluntarily handed over to ADI from a circus along with five other tigers and two lions. The circus refused, at the time, to give up six other tigers (see above).

Sasha (Alexis Habitat)
Sasha was voluntarily handed over to ADI at the same time as Sun, Moon, and Luna.

Adopt Sasha
US $ | UK £

The Kuwait 6: Rescued from the illegal pet trade
Muheeb (Keith’s Happiness Habitat), Aziza, Dhubiya and Saif (KAKATO Home Sweet Home Habitat), Saham and Shujaa (Abbey Habitat)

Illegally purchased as ‘trophy pets’, the six young lions, Muheeb, Saham, Shujaa, Saif, Dhubiya and Aziza, had been dumped when they were no longer wanted – discarded like a fashion accessory of which the owner had become bored. Some of the lions were abandoned in the desert to starve, others confiscated, and some left tied up in the city. The Kuwait Zoo cared for them until we flew them, on a cargo flight specially donated by Qatar Airways Cargo, to South Africa and a new life at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary.