Vasylina, a lioness rescued in the suburbs of Kharkiv in 2022, died at a rehabilitation center in South Africa. The animal was abandoned by its owners, who left the village at the start of the full-scale invasion.
This was reported by UAnimals.
Law enforcement officers received a report that a lion was roaming the streets of Pisochyn. The eight-month-old lion cub had escaped from a summer cottage cooperative. After five hours of attempts, the lioness was caught. UAnimals and the Wildlife Rescue Center temporarily transferred Vasylina to the Natalia Popova Center for rehabilitation.
Later, the Four Paws charity fund evacuated Vasylina to the Felida Big Cat Sanctuary rehabilitation center in the Netherlands.
“There, Vasylina met a lion named Nikola, who was also found as a cub on the streets of Montenegro. They became friends,” the volunteers said.
In April 2024, Vasilina and Nikola settled in a rehabilitation center for animals rescued from captivity in South Africa, which volunteers called one of the best places for rescued wild cats.
“The lion and lioness lived in one spacious enclosure and were together almost all the time. FourPaws says that Vasylina died suddenly—she just didn’t wake up one day. There were no signs that she was feeling unwell. Currently, the LIONSROCK center is taking extra care of Nikola, who will find it difficult to cope with the loss of his lioness,” the statement said.
