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The two lions of Ukraine are now at their final destination, Belgium!

The two lions of Ukraine are now at their final destination, Belgium!

They had a long journey, with many stopovers and hardships but finally made it here. Lions Tsar and Jamil were reportedly in grave danger of being killed during the Kyiv evacuation.

Two lions were rescued from Ukraine earlier in March and have made their way to Belgium.

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Reuters reported that a 1-year-old male, named Tsar and a 1-year-old female, named Jamil arrived at the nonprofit Natural Help Center (Natuurhulpcentrum) in Opglabbeek on March 9.

After their evacuation from the Wild Animal Rescue in Kyiv, Poland’s Zoo PoznaÅ„ accepted the twin male lions on Feb. 26 – just two days after Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

two lions of Ukraine

* In an email to Fox News Digital, Tsar and Jamil’s on-staff biologist Frederik Thoelen noted that they were both born in January 2021*

“Unfortunately, they are not yet fully grown because they were on a very poor diet when we found them. Their situation at the house was terrible – so bad that we provided them with emergency care and transported them to the rescue center in Kyiv,” he said.

According to Reuters, the two big cats were stopped by Russian forces most likely near a checkpoint.

The Russian army, they pointed their guns at the carers,” Thoelen told the news agency. “They threatened to kill the animals. The carers said ‘no those are our animals. If you touch the animals, you first have to touch us.'”

A Polish refugee group Facebook page called the Natural Help Center reported that Tsar and Jamil spent nearly two weeks in Poznań before they were moved again.

two lions of Ukraine

Currently, Tsar and Jamil are located in the Natural Help Center’s quarantine ward – this is where animals stay for a period of three months.

The Natural Help Center is partnered with animal sanctuaries around the world and supporting Panthera Africa Big Cat Sanctuary in Stanford, South Africa. They will be taking in wildlife rescued from a Belgian shelter.

It’s not yet clear where Tsar and Jamil have ended up next.

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