A lion and bear rescued from captivity in northern Albania arrived in animal sanctuaries in Germany, after authorities in Tirana discovered they were being illegally kept as pets on a private estate.
Erion, a three-year-old lion, and Flora, a two-year-old bear, are now starting a new life.
“We are very happy that the authorities confiscated the animals and that we now have the chance to bring them to Germany, where they can start over and live in species-appropriate conditions,” said Magdalena Scherk-Trettin, a senior project manager responsible for rescues at the international animal welfare organization Four Paws.
Photo: Four Paws via AP
A team from Four Paws carried out the rescue after Albania’s National Forestry Agency located the lion based on videos posted on TikTok by its owner.
Neither authorities nor the organization have named the person who was keeping them as pets.
The animals on Saturday last week ended a 70-hour journey through several European countries, with Erion now housed in a wild animal sanctuary in southeast Germany and Flora in a bear sanctuary in the north of the country, Four Paws said.
The organization said both animals had been in poor condition.
“An initial visual check determined that Flora is malnourished and has dental issues, so her recovery plan is already underway,” the organization said.
And when Erion was rescued, his mane had fallen out, for reasons that the veterinarians have not yet been able to determine, it said.
Despite the challenging journey, the rescue was worth it, Scherk-Trettin said.
“We are delighted to see these animals begin their new lives,” they added.
Illegal wildlife trade remains a systemic problem in Albania and across the region, where bears in particular, as well as exotic animals, are kept in cages at restaurants or on private properties with little or no expert care.
Erion’s and Flora’s origins remain unclear.
Four Paws said it believes the lion is a victim of illegal wildlife trafficking, while the bear was likely poached from the wild.
“The rescue highlights Albania’s urgent need to tackle illegal wildlife trade and private keeping,” the organization said.
Weak legislation, legal loopholes and poor enforcement have contributed to the widespread private captivity and trade of wild animals in Albania, it said, adding that it estimates more than 60 big cats are still being kept in poor conditions in Albania.
Four Paws project manager Sajmir Shehu said the law lacks a stringent framework based on which organizations like his could prevent wild animals being kept in captivity.
The law also allows for animals to be confiscated if welfare or veterinary standards are not met, but imposes no sanctions on the owners of exotic pets.
Auschwitz survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of teenage diarist Anne Frank and a tireless educator about the horrors of the Holocaust, has died. She was 96. The Anne Frank Trust UK, of which Schloss was honorary president, said she died on Saturday in London, where she lived. Britain’s King Charles III said he was “privileged and proud” to have known Schloss, who cofounded the charitable trust to help young people challenge prejudice. “The horrors that she endured as a young woman are impossible to comprehend and yet she devoted the rest of her life to overcoming hatred and prejudice, promoting kindness, courage, understanding
‘DISRESPECTFUL’: Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s most influential adviser, drew ire by posting an image of Greenland in the colors of the US flag, captioning it ‘SOON’ US President Donald Trump on Sunday doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the US, despite calls by the Danish prime minister to stop “threatening” the territory. Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela has reignited fears for Greenland, which Trump has repeatedly said he wants to annex, given its strategic location in the arctic. While aboard Air Force One en route to Washington, Trump reiterated the goal. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it,” he said in response to a reporter’s question. “We’ll worry about Greenland in
PERILOUS JOURNEY: Over just a matter of days last month, about 1,600 Afghans who were at risk of perishing due to the cold weather were rescued in the mountains Habibullah set off from his home in western Afghanistan determined to find work in Iran, only for the 15-year-old to freeze to death while walking across the mountainous frontier. “He was forced to go, to bring food for the family,” his mother, Mah Jan, said at her mud home in Ghunjan village. “We have no food to eat, we have no clothes to wear. The house in which I live has no electricity, no water. I have no proper window, nothing to burn for heating,” she added, clutching a photograph of her son. Habibullah was one of at least 18 migrants who died
Russia early yesterday bombarded Ukraine, killing two people in the Kyiv region, authorities said on the eve of a diplomatic summit in France. A nationwide siren was issued just after midnight, while Ukraine’s military said air defenses were operating in several places. In the capital, a private medical facility caught fire as a result of the Russian strikes, killing one person and wounding three others, the State Emergency Service of Kyiv said. It released images of rescuers removing people on stretchers from a gutted building. Another pre-dawn attack on the neighboring city of Fastiv killed one man in his 70s, Kyiv Governor Mykola
RSS