Ruben the lion spent 15 years locked in a tiny cage but has finally been rescued and given his first taste of freedom.
Held captive in squalid conditions in a private zoo that had closed down, the traumatized animal spent five years completely alone and in silence. Other animals were relocated, but there was no room for Ruben, said a spokesperson from Animal Defenders International, the non-profit organization that saved him.
Located on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan, the zoo belonged to a Russian oligarch, the charity said. After a major rescue operation, the battered, lonely lion has now been relocated from the concrete cell to a temporary quarantine facility in an Armenian sanctuary. Efforts are going on to move Ruben to his final home in South Africa….