Life with the lions, as pride swaps the Serengeti for Doncaster

A PRIDE of 13 lions rescued from a dilapidated Eastern European zoo touched down at a British airport today on its way to a new life in chilly South Yorkshire.

The Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster may be a long way from the Serengeti or the Masai Mara, but the organisers of today's operation said the attraction will be a welcome relief from the conditions the big cats have endured in Romania.

And the flight crew who piloted the animals across Europe said South Yorkshire in February may even seem mildly tropical compared with the minus 20C temperatures wintry Bucharest is experiencing at the moment.

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The converted Jet2.com Boeing 737 carrying the lions touched down at Robin Hood Airport, near Doncaster, at lunchtime and the 13 well packed animals were then carefully loaded on to a specialist 700,000 elephant-carrying lorry borrowed for the day from Woburn Safari Park.

Two men with shotguns stood by as the loading operation took place on the apron.

Looking on, Cheryl Williams, director of the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, said she was "very excited" by the arrival of the lions which was funded by more than 12,000 individual donations.

The lions - dubbed the Pride of Yorkshire - have been rescued from the concrete enclosures of the crumbling Oradea Zoo, in Romania.

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The park claims the operation to transport the animals - aged from 15 months to Johnny Senior at 27 years old - is the world's biggest ever lion rescue.

It launched a 150,000 appeal last summer to bring the giant beasts from Romania, where conditions were so bad four adults were stuffed together in a 15ft by 12ft concrete cell.

The lions were packed into 13 separate crates for the two-hour trip and were then loaded one by one on to the lorry for the final two-mile leg of their journey.

Mrs Williams said: "I can't tell you what it feels like to see them on British soil.

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"It's been a real team effort. Everyone at the park's been working so hard to get the enclosure ready and then there's the 12,500 people who gave donations to make this happen.

"I want to thank everyone who's helped.

"It's really exciting."

She said a vet travelled on the flight but the lions are thought to be in a bad condition and will need specialist examination once they are safely in Doncaster.

They will live in a specially made big cat house and will eventually have the run of a nine-acre enclosure.

Mrs Williams said: "It will be the first time in their lives they will be able to run at their natural speed."

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She said she had been out to see the animals in Romania and found the conditions there "deeply upsetting".

She said the park was contacted by the Romanian zoo which knew the lions were not being kept in good conditions and needed help.

Mrs Williams said she was hoping the lions would be fit to be seen by the public later this year.

Pilot Warwick Swancott said he had no trouble from his VIP passengers.

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Captain Swancott said he has flown the England football team and Take That in the past but this counted as his most unusual passenger list.

He said: "I've had the three lions on board and now it's the 13 lions.

"It's is certainly the most unusual group of passengers I've had on board but they were no trouble at all."

Capt Swancott said the lions were used to freezing conditions in Romania so he was surprised how cold he had to keep the cabin during the flight.

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And he said the process of packing the lions into the plane had to be done carefully as some of the cats do not get on and their crates had to be kept well apart to keep them calm.

The plane was donated for the day by Jet2.com which stripped out seats normally used by holidaymakers to house the crates.

Managing director Ian Doubtfire said: "It's been terrific. Our day job is flying holidaymakers around the Mediterranean and so this is unusual.

"We are delighted to have been able to the take part."

Mr Doubtfire said the plane would now be cleaned before it was returned to passenger duty in Newcastle.

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Later, the lions arrived at their new enclosure after a 10- minute journey from the airport.

Staff at the park began the process of coaxing them out of their crates and into the newly built enclosure, which is surrounded by a 15ft high mesh fence.

Carla, the oldest female, was the first lion the keepers tried to tempt out.

But she kept the assembled crowd of photographers, park staff and armed police waiting as she refused to leave her container.

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At one point, she hurled her feeding bowl out of her crate but refused to follow it into the compound.

Carla was eventually beaten in the race to be the first in the lion house by the male, Caesar.

The staff said donations to complete the work can still be made through www.lionrescue.co.uk.