Circus lions taste freedom for first time
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00:00 Ray and Simba are brothers. They have spent their whole lives in the circus.
00:04 ADI ran a campaign across South America and as a result of it,
00:08 several countries began banning the use of animals in circuses.
00:12 The circuses in Peru simply defied the law because they didn't think anyone would come and take the animals.
00:18 We began tracking down every single circus in Peru.
00:22 It brought us to a town high in the Andes Mountains and that's where we met Ray and Simba.
00:28 We thought we were going to get lots of support from the police and the officials,
00:32 but they just stood back and we were surrounded by maybe 50, 60 people trying to stop us take these lions.
00:39 But finally we got them out of their hands, into our truck,
00:42 and we were able to make our way across the Andes.
00:45 Starting their new life.
00:46 We rescued them on my birthday, so that was that really,
00:54 and actually the best present I could have had.
00:57 It was between 19 and 22 hour drive.
01:00 We kept going all night and we drove through sleet and snow and hail and rain.
01:06 And I remember peeking in and they were just snuggled up together and they fluffed up their mates.
01:11 So they were huge, they were just keeping each other warm in there.
01:15 We were able to make our way across the Andes back to Lima and our temporary rescue unit.
01:20 And then there's a whole process of export and import procedures.
01:25 We had to get permits, we have to vaccinate them, which took us a couple of years.
01:30 Finally getting them ready to go to Africa, we had 33 lions all on the same flight.
01:34 We redesigned the cages so even for that journey they could see and smell each other throughout.
01:40 We're in the flight with them so we give them treats,
01:42 a bit like the people on aircraft who give you a bag of peanuts that stop you getting angry.
01:47 One of the most fascinating things which we both love,
01:51 I think probably some of the pilots haven't loved it so much,
01:54 they all respond to the changes in air pressure.
01:56 So when you're going up and down they all roar together.
01:59 When they landed in Africa, all 33 lions were all together.
02:04 It was the most moving thing.
02:06 They're reassuring each other, they're checking whether everyone's okay.
02:09 For Simba and Grey you could sense they knew they were home,
02:12 whether it was the sights, the sounds, the smells, they were home.
02:16 They marched up the habitat through the undergrowth and everything.
02:32 They completely embraced it.
02:42 Every single lion roars as the sun's going down and then again in the morning
02:46 as the sun's starting to rise and it really means a lot to them.
02:49 It's like they have a community.
02:51 This is their home a year or so ago.
02:54 Grey got sick.
02:55 He was in hospital a long time.
02:57 It was almost a month.
02:58 They'd never been apart.
02:59 And you could see Simba was lonely, pacing around, you know, looking,
03:02 you know, where is he, where is my brother.
03:04 When they reunited it was incredible.
03:11 It's one of the most joyous things I've ever seen was when we reunited those boys.
03:15 Simba literally skipped with these bandy, distorted arthritic legs.
03:22 He literally skipped with joy.
03:24 He was like a kitten.
03:26 He was bouncing around him just as if just to say hello.
03:30 It takes years to get the laws that lead to saving animals like Simba and Grey.
03:35 It's so against all odds that these two lions in a tiny cage high up in the Andes mountains
03:42 in Peru, that they would somehow get home to Africa.
03:45 It makes you think miracles can happen.
03:48 [Music]