IS THIS BELLA’S NEW COMPANION?

LILONGWE WILDLIFE CENTRE NEWS: Let us introduce you to Simba, the rather handsome lion rescued by the Born Free Foundation from a Belgian circus.

Simba was born January 8th, 2005, in a French zoo, Parc Zoologique du Bouy and he lived there for several years before he was then acquired by an animal trainer in Vernay. Here, poor Simba’s home was a ‘beast wagon’ – nothing more than a lorry trailer. When this trailer was cleaned out, Simba was allowed access to a small circular ‘exercise cage’ attached to the trailer. Not surprisingly, Simba would then often refuse to return to the confines of the trailer. Thankfully though, matters were about to change for #Simba when the French Authorities stepped in and ordered that Simba be handed over.

We’ve offered to take him in as a companion for Bella our lioness. Bella came to us under similar circumstances, having been rescued from a zoo in Romania. Due to her appalling treatment and malnutrition during her time there she now suffers from rickets and her cataracts were so bad that she had to have an eye removed before she came to us in 2007. Finding her a suitable companion has been a priority for us – she is an incredibly friendly lion who craves interaction and hearing her roar from the other side of the reserve is always heartbreaking!

Jasper, our animal care manager, went to visit Simba this week whilst he was over in Europe and it looks like we are on course for his arrival in February. Now for all the paperwork…