A GROUP of endangered lions and other animals have been rescued and re-homed at a Wye Valley sanctuary after their owner was convicted of animal welfare charges.

When Lindsay Mckenna, who runs Wildside Exotic Rescue between Ross-on-Wye and Monmouth, realised she was going to be taking on more mountain lions, also known as pumas, she appealed to local builders to help erect a new enclosure for the animals.

Lions on the move
The three other rescued lions are safely secured for their long journey. (Tindle)

She had a great response with the new facility being built over the coming weeks.

And on Friday, a sanctuary team travelled to Hertfordshire to pick up the four remaining mountain lions.

Mountain Lion
A lion gets used to its new home with easy access to the outside enclosure. (Tindle)

Having been darted with a sedative to aid travelling, the lions were in a semi-relaxed state on their arrival at their new home, but this didn’t mean the team could take it easy, as all the necessary precautions were taken to deliver the eldest lion, named Kitkat, to an exterior den, while the three younger ones recovered in a specially adapted barn.

Lions on the move
A mountain lion explores the external enclosure. (Tindle)

Lindsay, who has run the rescue centre giving homes to many neglected animals for the past 15 years, explained that they had enough space for the new arrivals as they were used to living in smaller enclosures, which would give them enough time to acclimatise while their new den and outside spaces were being erected.

Lions on the move
Lindsay Mckenna, the owner of the Wildside Exotic Rescue centre, with Kitkat, the elderly mountain lion as it gets used to its new den. (Tindle)

“We had a successful day catching lions and bringing them home,” Lindsay said. “I was asked if we could help out as there are very few centres with dangerous wild animal licences.

Lions on the move
A mountain lion makes an initial investigation of its new home. (Tindle)

“I worked closely with The Big Cat Sanctuary in Kent and James Cork at Hertfordshire Zoo, who cared for the animals.

Mountain lions survey their surroundings
Other mountain lions already living at the sanctuary survey their surroundings (WildSide Exotic)

“However, the deadline of January 25 was fast approaching and any animal that didn’t find a home by that date would be euthanised.

The grass is greener for this mountain lion at WildSide Exotic
The grass is greener for a mountain lion at WildSide Exotic (WildSide Exotic)

“We couldn’t let that happen, so we agreed to take on four more mountain lions, making a total of eight, two lynx and one bobcat.

The lions have plenty of space to move around
The lions will have plenty of space to move around in, as this picture of already rescued animals shows (WildSide Exotic)

“This involved a lot of planning with 75 local builders offering help coming to our rescue to build two big enclosures. A lot of positives have come out of this animal emergency.”

See Wildside Exotic Rescue’s Facebook page for more information.