Lion trio given clean bill of health

A trio of young, rescued lions have been given a clean bill of health at award-winning Yorkshire Wildlife Park.

Oleg, and siblings Rafael and Shanti, who arrived recently at the Park, were rescued from war-torn Ukraine. In recent weeks, they have been settling in at the Park and getting used to life in Lion Country and the sounds around them.

11 December 2025

YWP Lion Health Check 029
Bex Brown, Head of Carnivores explained more about the health check: “The team has been working closely with the lions to build up their confidence and settle them in. Training them helps build confidence too, from just taking a piece of meat from tongs that we feed them, up to being able to examine and even inject them by hand, all helps provide the foundation for better care.”
YWP Lion Health Check 034
The two young males Oleg and Rafael were coming up to breeding age and so the vets recommended that we vasectomise them, so this was a good opportunity to give the youngsters a full MOT. Specialist vets from the International Zoo Veterinary Group came to the Park to assess the pride. 
Oleg was the first to be examined by the vets. Animals sometimes have to be darted with a tranquilliser to be examined but, thanks to his training, he voluntarily came over to the vets who quietly injected him through the mesh and he was soon fast asleep. Once the vets were happy that he was fully tranquillised he was carried on a stretcher to the neighbouring den that had been set up as a temporary operating theatre.
YWP Lion Health Check 016
The vets quickly got to work and took blood samples for various tests to check the general health, organ function and genetic health of the lion, closely examined and photographed his teeth and manipulated and felt his joints and bones before clearing the room for the X rays. These would all be closely examined back at the practice. 
 
Bex explained: ‘Sometimes these young lions can look as if their legs are slightly bowed as they have a growth spurt and it can be something they grow out of, or it can be because of a vitamin or sunlight deficiency when they were younger. We have seen this previously with our rescue lions. As these lions are young at around a year old, we would hope that their good diet here, exercise out in the big reserves and sunshine would make a big difference and lack of straightness will correct itself naturally.’
YWP Lion Health Check 020
The procedure was repeated with Rafael and Shanti. Oleg and Rafael also underwent a vasectomy. 

Bex concluded: ‘It was a long day for us but as stress free as possible for the lions and the results are looking good which is great news for everyone. They all came round really well and were soon back to their normal selves.’
 
The lions have made heartwarming progress here at the park.
 
“We mixed them back together a couple of days ago and it was fantastic. It was like they'd never lived apart.
 
“When they first arrived about three months ago, Oleg was shut down, hiding away in the corner of the lion house alone.
 
“Whenever they saw an aeroplane or helicopter, they would go back into the house and cower down.
YWP Lion Health Check 004
“But now the three have been transformed, even playing hide and seek together and snuggling up together at night. They boys have also developed a real ‘bromance’!
 
“It was great to see them run and chase each other and pretend to hunt each other. At first they could do the seek but not the hide part. They didn’t know how to sneak up!
 
“Initially when they were ambushing each other they didn’t hide, just pounced so they didn’t get the shock value. They needed the space to learn this behaviour.
 
“They have enrichment here; they have balls and tubes, and we hide their food.
 
“It’s incredible to think what we can offer them and what we can do to improve their lives.”
YWP Lion Health Check 003

Oleg was rescued as a cub from private owners who fled the Sumy region during the escalation of war. He was raised by humans but longs for connections with other lions.

Siblings, Rafael and Shanti, were found in the Kharkiv region next to their dying mother, a lioness who had been abandoned in a private menagerie and starved.

The Wildlife Foundation, the charity based at the park, raised the funds to cover the specialist transport costs for the 1,700 mile trip.

Once fully recuperated, the trio will be seen by visitors in Lion Country, the seven-acre habitat comprised of three specially designed reserves.

2024 Lion Rescue 2 Dr Ywp 121

It is the third rescue undertaken by Yorkshire Wildlife Park which has seen a total of 17 lions brought to Lion Country over the years.

The first lion rescue took place back in 2010, which brought 13 lions to the park.

Their rescue won international accolades for saving the lions from horrific conditions in Romania and giving them a new home in Yorkshire. The success of this encouraged the park to take on a second mission in 2024 with the rescue of Aysa and her cubs, Emi, Santa and Teddi, now three years old.

Yorkshire Wildlife Park, which puts conservation at the heart of all its activities, offers visitors a unique walkthrough experience, coming almost face-to-face with some of the world’s most beautiful and rare species, including Amur Leopards and Tigers, Giraffes, Sea Lions and Black Rhinos.

Yorkshire Wildlife Resort boasts The Hex Wildlife Hotel and The Yorkshire Hive – the shopping, dining and entertainment village.

Subscribe to updates from Yorkshire Wildlife Park

* indicates required

Please select how you would like to hear from Yorkshire Wildlife Park Resort.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp's privacy practices.