International animal rescue team treats starving Khartoum Zoo lions

A team from the global animal welfare organisation Four Paws is treating the four emaciated lions at the El Gurashi Family Park Zoo in Khartoum. One of the lionesses was on the brink of starvation.

Two weeks ago resistance committees in Khartoum began feeding the hungry lions in El Gurashi Zoo in Khartoum as part of the Hanabneho (We shall build it) initiative. It soon became clear that the lions needed more than food. The Sudanese activists contacted Four Paws to provide help.

The Sudanese authorities granted a rescue team, led by vetenarian Amir Khalil, permission to enter the country and provide the animals with urgently needed food and medical care.

Through intravenous therapy Khalil managed to administer fluids, minerals and vitamins to the lioness named Kandaka, whose condition was worst of all the lions. After some hours Kandaka was able to stand again, and also willing to eat tinned cat food, which, according to the vet, was  at that time the most appropriate food for the lioness.

The four lions had lost two thirds of their natural body weight. A fifth lion had already died before the team arrived.

The Four Paws team cooperates with the Wildlife Department of the Sudanese Ministry for the Interior, the Sudanese Ministry of Agriculture, the zoo manager and local activists and volunteers. It will “stay as long as is necessary”. It also expressed willingness to cooperate with the local authorities, that own the zoo and the animals, “to find a long-term solution”. One of these solutions might be “to transport the lions to one of our wild reserves”.

Four Paws

Four Paws is a global animal welfare organisation for animals under human influence, which reveals suffering, rescues animals in need and protects them. Founded in 1988 in Vienna, the organisation advocates for a world where humans treat animals with respect, empathy and understanding. It focuses on stray dogs and cats, pets, farm animals and wild animals – such as bears, big cats, orangutans and elephants, also in disaster and conflict zones. It provides both rapid help and long-term solutions. Four Paws has offices in 15 countries, sanctuaries for distressed animals in 12 countries and employs 500 staff members. It is fully funded by donations. It has carried out rescue mission in the zoos of Aleppo and Gaza in recent years.

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