Lioness Vasylina, evacuated from Kharkiv region, suddenly died in South Africa

Lioness Vasylina, evacuated from Kharkiv region, has died in South Africa. According to UAnimals, Vasylina died suddenly — she did not wake up one day, UNN reports.

Vasylina's story

According to UAnimals, the lioness Vasylina was rescued from private property in Kharkiv region. Confused and frightened, she wandered around the outskirts of one of the villages.

The animal was then rescued and temporarily transferred for rehabilitation to Natalia Popova's Center.

Later, the charitable foundation FourPaws evacuated Vasylina to the Netherlands to a rehabilitation center. There, Vasylina met the lion Nikola — he was found on the streets of Montenegro when he was still small. They became friends.

In April 2024, Vasylina and Nikola settled in a rehabilitation center for rescued animals from captivity — in South Africa. This is one of the best places for rescued wild cats. This evacuation cost numerous efforts for FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary, LIONSROCK, the Wild Animal Rescue Center, UAnimals, and many other wonderful volunteers and organizations.

The lion and lioness lived in one spacious enclosure and were together almost all the time.

FourPaws says that Vasylina died suddenly — she did not wake up one day. There were no signs that she was feeling unwell.

Currently, the center is taking extra care of Nikola, who will find it difficult to cope with the loss of the lioness.

We were immensely happy about Vasylina's new home in South Africa. And we are just as immensely saddened by her death now. Vasylina, it's a pity that you had to go through such a difficult path due to human irresponsibility. We will remember you