FOUR PAWS Provide Aid to Al Qurashi Park Lions

After pictures of five severely malnourished lions in Al Qurashi Family Park went viral on social media on 19 January 2020, launching the #SudanAnimalRescue campaign, FOUR PAWS, an international animal welfare organisation, has traveled to Sudan to offer the distressed lions and other animals at the park swift and direct aid.

‘After photos of the emaciated lions went viral, FOUR PAWS was contacted by local activists, including the initiator of the online campaign Mr. Osman Salih, who provided us with information about the situation at Al Qurashi Family Park zoo and offered to assist our mission on-site,’ said Dr Amir Khalil, FOUR PAWS veterinarian and head of the emergency mission in Sudan.

The story of the famished lions first broke out when a visitor, Osman Salih, visited the park and was shocked to see the lions in their ill state. He then turned to social media using the hashtags #SudanAnimalRescue and #اسود_حديقة_القرشي to share their plight. In addition to calling for aid, many have taken to social media to demand releasing the lions from the cages and returning them into the wild, their natural habitat. Some of the lions had lost almost two-thirds of their body weight.

‘Local supporters helped the animals at the Al Qurashi Family Park zoo with food and some medicine. Sadly, some animals already passed away, including one lioness. The lack of equipment and medicine there is challenging. FOUR PAWS is doing its best to rescue the remaining animals. Two of lions are starving, emaciated, apathic, with skin lesions.’

Prior to FOUR PAWS’ arrival, one of the five lions, a female lion named Aswad, died on 20 January 2020. Since their arrival on 24 January, the rescue team has been working on saving the remaining lions and other animals at the park’s zoo. ‘Our main challenge was the critical condition of two of the lions, Mansour and Kandaka, especially Kandaka was in a comatose state. She had lost two thirds of her body weight and was severely dehydrated. She would not have handled any anaesthesia but we still had to start immediate rehydration therapy. The team started infusions without sedation and that saved Kandaka’s life. Within a couple of hours she was feeling better and even was able to eat. In the beginning, we evaluated her chances of survival to less that 30%, but now I am happy to say that she has more than 80% chance to recover,’ said Dr Khalil. According to him, the other lions are in a much better condition that Mansour and Kandaka; however, all the lions remain in the danger zone.

In addition to the lions, the zoo at Al Qurashi Family Park is home to other animals including hyenas and tortoises. ‘Our team also examined the two hyenas living at the zoo. Our vets found they have also certain issues, like skin problems. Additionally, one of the hyenas was living in such a small crate that it could barely move. During the ultrasound examination it was discovered that the other hyena is pregnant with three cubs and is about to give birth in two months. We made small improvements in her enclosure, so she can feel safer. However, the best solution for her will be to give birth in a species-appropriate place away from Al Qurashi Family Park zoo,’ said Dr Khalil.

‘FOUR PAWS is working with representatives of the government of Sudan, in particular the Wildlife Department of the Ministry of Interior and with the Ministry of Animal Resources. The challenges to work in Sudan, a country in deep economic crisis and still under sanctions, are numerous – like issuing of visas for the team and import of medications for the treatment of the animals. However, our work is receiving the full support of the authorities so far and this makes it easy deal with any logistic challenge,’ he added.

On 7 February 2020, FOUR PAWS announced that Al Qurashi Family Park will be closing. However, the animals that were under their care were all relocated without FOUR PAWS being notified. The team is now concerned for the well-being of Mansour as his new location as not suitable for his well-being.

‘Currently, our focus is on providing urgently needed help for the four lions and other animals at Al Qurashi Family Park zoo, whose lives are at risk. Our long-term plan is to provide a sustainable solution for the animals in Al Qurashi Family Park zoo and we are negotiating the possible scenarios with the respective authorities in Sudan. We are also training the staff and local vets to prevent such a situation happening again in the future,’ said Dr Khalil.

The rescue mission in Sudan comes as an emergency and FOUR PAWS relies greatly on donations to provide aid to the animals at Al Qurashi Family Park.

For more information on FOUR PAWS, visit https://www.four-paws.org. To donate to the rescue mission, visit https://secure.four-paws.org/sudan-lions.

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