Bombi back to Africa
2004.06.07. 14:12
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Bombi back to Africa 10 May 2004
15:02:38 PM
All permits have been finalised and Bombi is due to arrive
over the weekend. |
Finally all the necessary permits and
arrangements for Bombi's arrival have been finalised. The little lion cub whose
grandparents were captured in Tanzania many years ago are due to return to
Africa to start a new life that will see him take up his rightful place in
nature.
Bombi was born in the Budapest zoo, but unfortunately his
siblings died soon after birth and Bombi had to be removed from his mother to be
hand raised. The zoo realised that the little cub faced a grim future in Europe,
as there are not too many zoos nowadays that need lions. Globally there are also
problems facing lions and many surplus lions from zoos have ended up in the most
appalling conditions. The future of lions in second-rate zoos and circuses is
pretty bleak.
Fortunately the zoo director gave the green light to try
and find a suitable destination for the young lion cub where he could possibly
be returned to the wild.
SanWild was contacted initially by Liesl
Mortimer (Wildlife Action Group) to find out if we could accept the lion cub and
return him to the wild. There are some very special people in Hungary who were
instrumental to return Bombi to Africa. I would like to thank Gabriella Kiss,
Zoltan Istavan and Endre Sos as well as KLM who will be flying Bombi back to
Africa.
We will keep you posted on his
arrival.
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