Lions Nelson and Ciam travel to new home in SA

Born Free successfully rehomes Nelson and Ciam at Shamwari Game Reserve.

Born Free successfully rehomes Nelson and Ciam at Shamwari Game Reserve.

Published May 8, 2017

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mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Former zoo lion, Nelson, and confiscated ‘exotic pet’,

Ciam, started  new lives in their

ancestral home of Africa this week.

mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> Nelson and Ciam travelled from their temporary

home in Belgium - via Germany - to Port Elizabeth, in South Africa’s Eastern

Cape, where they were this morning introduced into their spacious, safe and

enriching accommodation at the award-winning Shamwari Game Reserve. 

mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">With them every step of the way on their more than

10,000km journey was Born Free Foundation Co-Founder and actress, Virginia

McKenna OBE, who watched with delight as Nelson and Ciam explored their new

surroundings.

mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Nelson, after 14 years of imprisonment and about two

years at the Natuurhulpcentrum rescue centre in Belgium, and Ciam, bought from

a terrible circus by someone who kept him illegally in his back yard, will now

have a new life at the Born Free sanctuary at Shamwari.

mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">Mckenna said: “Seeing them take their first steps into

their huge natural enclosures was utterly joyful. At last they are free to live

where lions belong and will be treated with the care and respect they deserve.

How lucky I was to be there to share the moment."

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mso-ansi-language:EN-GB">The two lions started their journey from

Natuurhulpcentrum rescue centre, Belgium, on Thursday May 4. Born Free

Celebrity Patrons, comedian Jim Moir (Vic Reeves) and his wife – model and

actress Nancy Sorrell - helped carefully prepare Nelson and Ciam for their

journey and have been closely following their progress.

mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> From Belgium, the lions travelled by road to

Frankfurt airport, Germany, for their flight to Johannesburg. From there, they

were flown by charter plane to Port Elizabeth, and then travelled by road the

short distance to Shamwari Game Reserve. Nelson is now living at Born Free’s

Julie Ward Animal Rescue and Education Centre, while Ciam’s new home is at the

Jean Byrd Centre.

mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> Joe

Cloete, Shamwari Game Reserve, Group General Manager said: “We, here at

Shamwari Game Reserve are very proud to continue our close working relationship

with Born Free, which now marks 20 years, and to be a part of not only

supporting this great work, but also raising awareness of the plight of many

big cats worldwide.”

mso-ansi-language:EN-GB"> Nelson and Ciam’s new lives at Shamwari Game

Reserve will be a world away from their previous circumstances, which highlight

the sorry plight of the millions of wild animals worldwide kept for human

entertainment – in zoos, circuses or as ‘exotic pets’. Nelson was rescued from

a French zoo in April 2015 when it fell into liquidation. Ciam made

international headlines in November 2015 when he was confiscated from a cramped

cage in a garden in Southern France where his owner was illegally keeping him

as an ‘exotic pet’.

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