15-year-old lion feels grass for first time
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00:00 He was born in a private zoo in Armenia.
00:04 When it closed down, all of the other animals were taken, but Ruben was left behind.
00:09 We were told that there just wasn't room for him, so he was on his own for over five years in that zoo.
00:17 Just concrete and bars. People were putting food through the bars, but there was really nothing else for him.
00:23 Suddenly, his world went silent.
00:26 These are animals that get a lot from talking to each other. A lion's roar can travel about six miles.
00:32 When he roared, no one roared back. So he just gave up on roaring, which was one of the saddest things.
00:38 It seems incredible just to leave a single animal behind when the zoo was being emptied.
00:43 We've got this lion sanctuary in Africa, and so we began the process of funding someone to remove him from the zoo and then getting him to Africa.
00:53 It's a long journey, about 15 hours. We were very lucky when Qatar Airlines Cargo offered him a flight.
00:59 You can see here some of the logistics that go into moving these animals. These crates needed to be built here in Armenia.
01:07 Our biggest concern was the heat. We built a crate in Armenia, painted it white to reflect the sun as much as possible.
01:16 We sprayed the inside of the crate with lavender and feliway, the hormone that the cats like. It keeps them relaxed and keeps them happy.
01:23 He had to be sedated to put him into the crate.
01:26 We travelled on the same flight, but above him. We normally travel with big numbers of cats.
01:31 We've flown 33 lions in one go, but this occasion we were with the passengers above.
01:36 No one else knew there was a lion in the hold below us. I don't know what they'd have made of that.
01:42 He travelled really well. He seemed to know something good was happening.
01:46 The magic moment was when he walked out of his crate and he touched his first grass. You could see him almost thinking, "What is this?"
01:58 He looked up into the sky. It will have been the first time he saw the sun over his head.
02:07 He would move around. He saw birds for the first time flying over his head. He sat down and the wind was blowing through his mane.
02:14 He was holding his head up to the wind and just enjoying it.
02:17 Ruben's home in Africa. He's very engaged and interested in the toys and the bags.
02:22 Maybe his first toy.
02:24 When we saw him in Armenia, his whole face was anxious. He was difficult to get near.
02:30 That changed instantly in South Africa. A defensive lion has just sort of melted with being back in his homeland and seeing and hearing the other lions.
02:38 There's Ruben. And there's Ray. And there's Simba.
02:44 He sits and watches his neighbours.
02:47 They were rescued from a circus in Peru.
02:50 Nearly all of the lions here across the world were defined as a place of safety at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary.
02:58 There's lots of reasons why he couldn't go back to the wild.
03:00 He is too old now. So he'll stay on the sanctuary. We just want him to enjoy life. He has his rights. He can choose what he wants to do.
03:08 We've built a special needs type enclosure for him. We'll keep him on his own until we feel more certain about his health condition.
03:15 He has started a little roar. Just getting to know everyone.
03:19 In the future, there might be an older female lion or another lion who might make a good companion.
03:27 It's a very slow and careful process.
03:29 The resilience to survive it is something we can all learn from.
03:33 Because it's kind of the human equivalent of you living your daily life and suddenly you're kidnapped by somebody with no prospect of getting out.
03:41 And somehow he survived that with all of this love of life intact.
03:46 It is crushing what people do to these animals. But when you get a chance to turn it back, it's absolutely wonderful.
03:53 [Lion roar]
03:56 [Music]
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