A concussed and traumatised lioness rescued from a missile strike in war-torn Ukraine has taken her first steps into the open air at a wildlife refuge in the English countryside.
Three-year-old Yuna, who has a condition akin to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), arrived at The Big Cat Sanctuary in the Kent village of Smarden on August 17th and stayed inside her enclosure for a week.
But the sanctuary, which said she had previously been confined to a small space on a concrete floor, said she had ‘begun to reveal a playful and curious nature’ as she felt grass beneath her paws for the first time.
Yuna was traumatised by debris from a Russian missile attack which landed 300m from an enclosure in which she had been kept after being rescued from captivity by Ukrainian military volunteers in February 2023.
She had been kept in a three metre by four metre cell with a concrete floor by a private owner together with a young male lion, and it is believed there were plans to use them for illegal breeding.
After Yuna was evacuated to Wild Animals Rescue centre, a facility supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, close to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, a vet stated that she had wounds due to her long stay on the cold concrete floor.
According to vets, she had wounds due to long stays on a cold concrete floor. She was also overweight due to poor diet and in such bad health, she could not stand on her feet.
She was also overweight due to poor diet and in such bad health, she could not stand on her feet.
It took some time before she was able to walk around the enclosure but was separated from the male lion and her weight subsequently decreased.
However in January 2024, during a large-scale Russian missile attack, debris fell extremely close to Yuna’s enclosure. This caused her to suffer a serious concussion, which led to a complete loss of coordination.
CCTV footage confirmed that it was not an ordinary injury, but a condition known as acoustic trauma (which was called shellshock in the First World War) and she would cower in a corner of her enclosure, growling and showing clear signs of severe stress.
Following weeks of planning and fundraising, Yuna – along with another lion named Rori currently being looked after in Belgium – was evacuated from the Wild Animals Rescue Center.
She had a condition known as acoustic trauma (called shellshock in the First World War) and would cower in a corner of her enclosure, growling and showing clear signs of severe stress.
A team from Cross Border Animal Services collected the two lions on August 14th before embarking on a 2,000 kilometre four day journey across Europe.
Cam Whitnall, from The Big Cat Sanctuary, said staff had been ‘chatting’ to Yuna to help her feel comfortable at her new home.
‘She comes out for a few hours each day now, but we’re monitoring her because she’s still very wobbly,’ he said.
He added that other activities Yuna had taken up included play fighting plants and trees, and being bewildered by rain, having not previously had access to an outdoor enclosure.
The sanctuary said: ‘ Each day, keepers sat near her, speaking in soft, comforting tones and gradually allowing her to adjust to their presence. As the days passed, Yuna’s initial wariness began to fade, and she started to approach her caretakers willingly. This steady progress signalled a significant breakthrough in Yuna’s emotional recovery.’
The sanctuary is aiming to raise £500,000 (AED2.4m) to complete the facility to be able to eventually bring three more lions, Vanda, Amani and Lira, along with Rori from Kyiv to Kent.
