Tim and I are flying to Israel as ADI steps in to save two illegally trafficked lion cubs after their hopes of a new life seemed to have been shattered.

The cubs had the worst possible start in life – sold by a wildlife trafficker as illegal pets, Ben-Tzur was tied to a tree (see picture below) in a yard and Ori confined in miserable conditions inside a house. Thankfully, still tiny babies, they were seized by Israel’s police and Nature & Parks Authority (NPA), during a crackdown on wildlife trafficking.

They were seized in March 2025 and after waiting for almost a year to head to a new life, the boys were destined to fly in late January to Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary in Western Cape, South Africa when it was suddenly devastated by a wildfire.

Sanctuaries across South Africa scrambled to take in evacuated animals with an ADI Wildlife Sanctuary team flying down to bring white lionesses, Elsa and Lei-ah to safety, the drive back taking over 15 hours. They will be our VIP guests until Panthera Africa can be rebuilt.

But what would happen to Ben-Tzur and Ori with their new home in ashes?

We have stepped in to help, and for the past weeks I have been working with our lawyers to quickly secure new permits to bring the cubs to ADIWS. With a huge rebuilding operation needed and unknown timeline for Panthera Africa, we both agreed it was in the best interests of the cubs for ADIWS to provide them with their forever home.

Things have been moving fast, and we are grateful to the CITES authorities in Israel for expediting the export permits, and to South Africa CITES for quickly inspecting the proposed home and for the super-fast import permits. We have prepared travel crates at ADIWS in case these need to be shipped to Israel.

Tim and I are flying to Israel to meet Ori and Ben-Tzur, the NPA team who rescued the animals, and the zoo officials where they currently reside. We will review the options for travel crates, plan the route, and co-ordinate the logistics for the move. As we await potential flights and veterinary import permits, we are doing everything we can to move the boys to ADIWS this month.

This is a big rescue to undertake with short notice, and the youngsters will hopefully have more than 20 years ahead of them in our care. There will be transport costs, initial veterinary costs, the cost of a 2.5-acre habitat, food, care, and the veterinary costs for two decades – we really need your help to raise at least $75,000/ £55,000, if we are not to jeopardize our plans to help other animals.

I had to make a quick decision for these young lions whose dreams had just gone up in smoke, so I hope you will help us as you have done before.

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