Simba the lion and a wolf named Akyla have been rescued from a zoo in war-torn Ukraine and brought to safety in Romania.
The animal rights group involved in the operation says the four-day mission was “full of dangers” further hampered by border entry bureaucracy.
Simba, an adult male lion, and the grey wolf, were fully awake during the dangerous journey due to the lack of tranquilisers in Ukraine.
They arrived on Monday at a zoo in Radauti, from Zaporizhzhia in south-east Ukraine.
Now at a safe distance from the conflict, and having spent four days in cages in the back of a van, the two animals are recovering from the journey.
On Wednesday they were settling in to their new enclosure, regaining their strength as they lounged in the shade.
“If there is something this war brought on, it is incredible co-operation between organisations,” said Sebastian Taralunga of Animals International, one of several animal rights groups involved in planning the animals’ extraction.
“Everybody agreed that in extreme times we have to have extreme measures, and we decided to do whatever possible to bring those animals out of war.”
Ukrainians fleeing with their four-legged family
The animals’ rescue was made possible by the efforts of several animal rights groups and private citizens, including two UK men who volunteered to enter Ukraine to rescue the animals and drive them to safety.
“I couldn’t find a driver from Romania to go and help, also not from Ukraine, so these guys were absolutely fabulous – they put their lives in danger,” said Roxana Ciornei, president of the Romania-based animal rights group Casa lui Patrocle. “But they arrived safely here.”
The long journey from Ukraine, a mission fraught with the dangers of entering a war zone, was far from simple.
The van carrying the animals could not secure permission by the authorities to cross through Romania’s Siret border point. This left the drivers no choice but to twice traverse the towering Carpathian Mountains – which arch across the countries’ common border – from west to east, adding nearly 1,000 kilometres to their journey.
“It was a central-level decision that Romania and Ukraine will only have a single border crossing for large animals,” said Gabriel Paun, the EU director at Animals International.
“It was a team of people acting in good faith to do everything they could to rescue those animals,” he said.
“It’s difficult to get people out of Ukraine if they’re in very dangerous areas, but to bring out a lion and a wolf … was mission impossible. I was 50-50 on whether those animals and those people would make it out alive.”
Mr Paun said that they couldn’t find a vet to help with their evacuation mission and that no tranquilisers were available, which meant the animals were “fully aware and awake” through their journey to safety.
“You can imagine what it means to drive with a lion and a wolf in the back of your van with cages that are not very stable and could have opened at any moment,” said Mr Taralunga of Animals International.
He said Simba suffered an injury during transport after hitting himself against the cage, but vets said it was not serious and would heal on its own.
The animals will now spend time in quarantine at their new enclosure and children and other visitors could see them at the zoo, after which they would eventually be transferred to sanctuaries.
“My NGO here runs a shelter of 300 dogs. We have cows, we have horses, but I have never thought in my life that I’d come to rescue a lion and a wolf,” said Ms Ciornei.
“We gathered a lot of people and everybody did something together ... and we succeeded to do this.
“There is a good part in this war in Ukraine, that these animals will go to a better life.”
$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
Results
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh195,000 1,400m | Winner: ES Ajeeb, Sam Hitchcock (jockey), Ibrahim Aseel (trainer)
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Al Shamkhah, Royston Ffrench, Sandeep Jadhav
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh190,000 1,200m | Winner: Lavaspin, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 1,200m | Winner: Kawasir, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 1,600m | Winner: Cosmo Charlie, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
9.20pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 1,400m | Winner: Bochart, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 2,000m | Winner: Quartier Francais, Fernando Jara, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')
Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Key features of new policy
Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6
Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge
A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools
Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability
One in nine do not have enough to eat
Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.
One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.
The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.
Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.
It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.
On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.
Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Marital status: Single
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
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if you go
The flights
Direct flights from the UAE to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, are available with Air Arabia, (www.airarabia.com) Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com) or Etihad (www.etihad.com) from Dh1,200 return including taxes. The trek described here started from Jomson, but there are many other start and end point variations depending on how you tailor your trek. To get to Jomson from Kathmandu you must first fly to the lake-side resort town of Pokhara with either Buddha Air (www.buddhaair.com) or Yeti Airlines (www.yetiairlines.com). Both charge around US$240 (Dh880) return. From Pokhara there are early morning flights to Jomson with Yeti Airlines or Simrik Airlines (www.simrikairlines.com) for around US$220 (Dh800) return.
The trek
Restricted area permits (US$500 per person) are required for trekking in the Upper Mustang area. The challenging Meso Kanto pass between Tilcho Lake and Jomson should not be attempted by those without a lot of mountain experience and a good support team. An excellent trekking company with good knowledge of Upper Mustang, the Annaurpuna Circuit and Tilcho Lake area and who can help organise a version of the trek described here is the Nepal-UK run Snow Cat Travel (www.snowcattravel.com). Prices vary widely depending on accommodation types and the level of assistance required.
