ライオン５頭、ウクライナから避難　ポーランド

【ワルシャワＡＦＰ＝時事】ポーランド西部ポズナニの市営動物園は１４日、ウクライナから避難させたライオン５頭を一時的に保護していると発表した。子ライオン３頭が含まれているという。（写真はポーランド西部のポズナニ動物園へ避難するために眠らされた子ライオン。ウクライナの首都キーウ近郊の村で。国際動物福祉基金〈ＩＦＡＷ〉提供）
　５頭は１３日に到着。全頭とも新しい環境に適応中だという。
　３歳の雌「アシャ」はウクライナ東部ドネツク地方から妊娠中に救出され、１０月にテディ、エミ、サンタの３頭を産んだ。
　残る１頭は２歳の雄ライオン「ビセリス」で、同じ民間施設から救出されたが、３頭の父親ではないと考えられている。現在は他の４頭から隔離されている。
　５頭は同園で数週間過ごしてから、他国の施設へ移送される予定となっている。
　今回の救出は国際動物福祉基金（ＩＦＡＷ）、ウクライナの野生動物救護センターと動物救出団体ウアニマルズ、ポズナニ動物園の協力で実現された。
　ポズナニ動物園はこれら団体などと協力し、欧州をはじめとする世界各地で、ウクライナ紛争で取り残された大型ネコ科動物などの引き取り先を探している。同園ではウクライナからこれまでにライオン、トラ、オオカミ、クマなど約２００頭の動物を引き取っている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/06/15-16:43）

Five lions including three cubs evacuated from Ukraine have found temporary refuge in Poznan in western Poland, the city's zoo said Wednesday.
The lions are safe and sound, Remigiusz Kozinski of the zoo's education department told AFP.
They arrived here on Tuesday. We had to tranquilise them when they arrived. They came quietly into their new cages, he added.
The lion in the group was separated from the lioness, who is with the three cubs, said Kozinksi. They are adapting to their new conditions.
The new arrivals are to stay at Poznan for the next few weeks before moving on to establishments in other countries, he added.
The evacuation of these big cats was made possible thanks to the collaboration between the International Federation for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Wild Animal Rescue, UAnimals and Poznan zoo, said a statement Wednesday from IFAW.
The lioness, three-year-old Asya, had been rescued while heavily pregnant from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, it added. She had her cubs, Teddi, Emi and Santa in October.
They are fortunate to still be nursing from the mother, and have had little human interaction, the IFAW said.
The two-year old lion, Viseris, while rescued from the same private facility, was not believed to be related to the others.
These are the unexpected victims of this war, said Natalia Gozak of IFAW.
Lions that should be roaming the plains of Africa, have instead been found in backyard breeding facilities in my country ravaged by Russian invasion.
As their owners were forced to flee, they were left to languish, she added.
Since most big cats bred in captivity cannot be released back into the wild, Poznan Zoo and its partners have identified suitable homes in Europe and beyond.
The zoo has already taken in around 200 animals from Ukraine, which officials there have moved out of the country because of the war. They include lions, tigers, wolves and bears.