Starving lions rescued from bombed Ukrainian zoo by team of Brit army veterans

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Nine starving lions have been rescued from a bombed-out Ukrainian zoo by a special team of British army veterans.

As the war in Ukraine rages on, a group of daring Brit veterans, which also included members from the US and Canada, rescued the wildlife from Biopark in Odessa, where supplies are running low.

The dangerous mission was planned out by South African animal advocate Lionel de Lange, founder of Warriors of Wildlife, who set his sights on evacuating the nine lions from the heavily bombed city of Odessa.

Lange teamed with Brits Gemma Campling, director of Worldwide Vets and Breaking the Chains founder, Tom.

Tom, whose surname cannot be revealed for security reasons, led the team of veterans into saving the animals.

Over three days, the team travelled thousands of miles across three borders attempting to carry out the big cat rescue, with fears of Russian missiles damaging the animal enclosure.

Damage to the enclosures could have led to serious danger to civilians with starving lions wandering the streets.

The team headed in and rescued all nine lions, with two adult males, five females as well as a male and female cub brought safely to their new, temporary home in Targu Mures, Romaina.

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Lange's team aim to fly all the lions to a new life, potentially in South Africa at the Simbonga Game Reserve or to a wildlife sanctuary in the US.

Funds for the operation were raised by supporters, who covered the costs of fuel, veterinary and security procedures, The Mirror reports.

Breaking the Chains founder Tom, 34, served 18 years in the British Army, and members of the daring lion rescue team included other veterans like former comrade Gaz and old soldiers Steve and TJ.

He said: "My ground team are all veterans so these are the guys who go into active conflict areas, and when I say active areas these are places under Russian offensive with troops on the ground. These are the conflict areas we operate in."

• Russia Ukraine war
• Animals
• Lions

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