We are now in the middle of winter at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary (ADIWS) in South Africa, the coldest time of year.  The coming weeks are expected to be particularly cold and the ADIWS team responded bringing in over 300 extra bales for added insulation.  We provide a home for lions and tigers rescued from a life of suffering and abuse around the world.  While they love basking in the sunshine and patrolling their habitats by day, the nights can be cold for these battered old warriors that have had the worst possible start in life. 

Some endured more than a decade confined in tiny circus cages, lacking exercise, lying in excrement and urine, and malnourished.  At ADIWS we pick up the pieces dealing with arthritis, spine problems and other health issues.  That’s why the houses attached to their main habitats have rooms for treatment and observation and to provide a warm place to sleep.  We have heated floors in three houses for senior lions – like Simba who was left with terrible arthritis after life in a circus in Peru.  Now we want to add heat lamps to more of the houses for our lions and tigers to keep them snug at night as they approach their senior years.

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