Simba the lion, wolf safely evacuated from war-torn Ukraine

Simba the lion and a wolf named Akyla have been evacuated from a zoo in war-torn Ukraine and brought to safety in Romania in what an animal rights group involved in the operation says was a four-day mission “full of dangers” further hampered by border entry bureaucracy.

The adult male lion and the gray wolf, who were fully awake during the dangerous journey due to lack of tranquilizers in Ukraine, arrived Monday at a zoo in Radauti, from a zoo in Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine.

Now at a safe distance from the conflict and after spending four days in cages in the back of a van, the two animals were recovering from the journey in their new enclosure Wednesday, regaining their strength as they lounged in the shade.

“If there is something this war brought on is incredible cooperation between organizations,” said Sebastian Taralunga of the animal rights group Animals