By: JJ G

Last month, four lion cubs and a black leopard cub were abandoned in a Ukrainian war zone. They had to escape bombings and survive a difficult journey before finding safety in Poland.

“An estimated 200 lions live in private homes [in Ukraine] and as the war rages on, they face increasingly grim outcomes,” said Meredith Whitney, wildlife rescue program manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Officials in Ukraine have been cracking down on exotic pet trade, resulting in many owners abandoning their pets at welfare organizations. For example, the big cat cubs were surrendered in Ukraine at the charities Kyiv and Odesa, where they started trying to find new homes for the animals. In the cubs’ short lives, they survived bombings and drone attacks and endured a 36-hour journey to the Polish Zoo in Poland. If these cubs were not bred in captivity, then they would not be able to survive in the wild.

“We were thrilled to be able to offer these cubs a … habitat together and hope to welcome them home soon,” said Tammy Thies, founder and executive director of the Wildcat Sanctuary in Minnesota.

Hopefully, he cubs get to the U.S. and Europe promptly.