Freya will take a while to settle in South Africa’s Drakenstein Lion Park, a sanctuary where big cats that were born in captivity have the chance to roam free across its 60 acres.
A 6-month-old lion cub named Freya was found in the illegal trade of wild animals in Lebanon.
She was rescued before the possibility of a lifetime of abuse and maltreatment that so many other exotic animals endure.
Freya will take a while to settle in South Africa’s Drakenstein Lion Park, a sanctuary where big cats that were born in captivity have the chance to roam free across its 60 acres.
As an ethical sanctuary, Drakenstein will not participate in captive breeding programs or allow visitors to interact with the lions.
"The Park is situated on 60 sprawling acres of fit-for-purpose lion habitat in the scenic Cape Winelands and offers visitors not only the opportunity to visit the rescued big cats, but also to support their care as well as to support the rescue of other big cats from abusive circumstances, as the Park is funded by visitors’ contributions," the sanctuary's website reads. "The Park receives no governmental or grant funding."
The sanctuary was established in 1998 and is the longest-operating South African-owned big cat sanctuary. It was built by the Hart family, who own and run the sanctuary as well.
"Drakenstein Lion Park is acclaimed for creating an ethical, non-intrusive and non-exploitative environment in which rescued big cats can be viewed by visitors without negative impact," the website reads. "Each rescue is treated as a sentient individual with care tailored to their unique psychological and physiological well-being."
Experts say Freya will never live in the wild as she hasn't been equipped for survival.
