AAP rescues a lion

Mufasa, a lion of about eight months old arrived during the night of 8/9 September at Stichting AAP in Almere. This is the first time that AAP has rescued a lion, however, it was an emergency. In the Spanish rescue centre Depana, which is a regular partner of AAP, Mufasa was quickly getting to big for his enclosure, and within our network of rescue centres there was at that moment no alternative address.

AAP has furnished an enclosure for Mufasa where he can spend his quarantine in a respectable manner until we can find him a permanent home.

In his short life Mufasa has already experienced a lot. His first owner, a circus, sold him to someone who kept him as a pet. His next owner had a nightclub and used Mufasa as an advertisement stunt, after that he was shut up on his own in a warehouse without any form of contact with other living creatures including humans! Eventually after all these changes he ended up at Depana.

Depana is really a rescue centre for cats and dogs in Catalonia, Spain. Their attempts to find Mufasa a home were in vain and the situation was becoming desperate. The Spanish authorities were threatening to have Mufasa put to sleep if a solution couldn’t be found. Depana contacted AAP and luckily we were able to offer suitable accommodation for him. Whilst Mufasa is spending the next four weeks in quarantine we are able to finish setting up his new enclosure. Luckily several of our vets, biologists and carers have experience with big cats, and we are in discussion with several parties in Africa who may be able to give Mufasa a home that meets our strict demands.

Mufasa did not travel from Spain alone, along with two Barbary Macaques, a Coati and a Raccoon were also three chimpanzees. These chimpanzees who originally came from a circus, a laboratory and a zoo had been living for years in a rescue centre near Benidorm, which due to stronger Spanish regulations must close. All of these animals are now in quarantine and will eventually be introduced into social groups and then hopefully happily re-housed in a permanent home.