Animal rescue organization, Four Paws, on 19 and 20 November rescued 46 wild animals trapped in the conflict zone in the south of the Sudanese capital Khartoum.
In a joint rescue mission with the Sudanese Wildlife authorities in Wad Madani of Gezira State, Four Paws experts evacuated the animals, including lions, hyenas, wildcats, birds, and deer from the Sudan Zoo in Al Bageir south of the capital Khartoum and relocated them to Wad Madani.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj earlier in the week, Four Paws veterinarian Dr. Amir Khalil, who led the evacuation and relocation of the animals, described the mission as difficult, risky, and dangerous given the high-risk circumstances and said it succeeded due to support from the local authorities.
“In the past two days, the team together with the local authorities in Sudan managed to evacuate 46 wild animals from the Al Bageir area,” he said. “Sadly, eight lions died due to disease and hunger in the last two weeks.”
For his part, Brig. Gen. Al-Nouman Abdulkarim, the Gezira State Director of Wildlife, said they will shelter the rescued animals for now but plan to open a zoo and nature research laboratory in Wad Madani.
“We have a plan to use these animals rescued from Khartoum to open a wildlife zoo and a nature research lab in the state,” he stated.