Lion Nikola being fierce

A traumatic start to life

At just five months old, Nikola escaped illegal private captivity and disappeared into the freezing Montenegro winter. After ten days of searching, the rescue team began to lose hope. Hunters had been deployed by the authorities as a desperate last attempt. Luckily, it was the right people who found him, weak, shivering, malnourished and dehydrated in the cellar of an abandoned house.  

We immediately gave him emergency medical care and transferred him to FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary in the Netherlands, where he received special care. His first few months were stressful, having never been in contact with other lions and he was quite overwhelmed by the new sounds and smells all around him. Once he settled in, he was introduced to a young lioness named Vasylyna with a similarly harrowing start to life. It wasn’t long before love was in the air for these two young rescues.  

A whole new world  

After successfully being socialised, Nikola and Vasylyna – lovingly nicknamed Nikolyna - embarked on their journey to LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary together.  

Today, Nikola is unrecognisable from the shivering, emaciated cub found clinging to life in a cellar. His baby teeth have been replaced by adult teeth, he’s grown a regal mane, and he stands tall and confident under the African sun, where he belongs.  

Nikola is an energetic and engaged young lion, who enjoys playing “soccer” with Vasylyna with a ball made from fire hoses, and tug of war with a special (strong!) rope hung in his enclosure.   

Adopt Nikola

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What you can get
Gifts you will receive when you adopt lion Nikola
Nikola is waiting to be adopted

Your adoption will help fund his care and support his species-appropriate life at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary. But it will do even more than that: your support makes sure that we can continue to help more lions like Nikola and create a world where people treat animals with empathy, respect and understanding.   

As Nikola’s sponsor, you will receive regular updates, photos and videos from his caretakers. You will also receive a personalised certificate, a gift bag featuring Nikola and you can choose whether you would like to receive a Nikola plush toy to have a beautiful reminder of him with you always.