Animals in captivity also suffer the ravages of war, as demonstrated by the condition in which a leopard about four years old has arrived in Spain in very poor health, with post-traumatic stress. He came from Ukraine and his new home will be in a shelter managed by the AAP Primadomus Foundation in the Villena mountains (Alicante).
His story has had a happy ending, unlike another case that is very similar and that inspired an extraordinary graphic novel: The Lions of Bagdad (Planet DeAgostini), by Brian K. Vaughan and Niko Henrichon. The authors were based on the true story of four lions that, in April 2003, escaped from the zoo in the capital of Iraq after a US army bombing of the city. Brave, the male leopard that has arrived in Spain, has also experienced many bombings, although he could not escape from the cage. He was discovered by the military in the town of Svatove, Lugansk region, where he was abandoned without food or water on a private property, apparently belonging to a wild animal collector who had possibly fled or been evacuated.
The specimen was taken to the shelter of the Wild Animal Rescue association, with which AAP has collaborated in other cases, and on Monday of last week it was collected by the foundation of the Villena center. The transfer was carried out with the help of the International Fund for Animal Welfare. He arrived in Alicante in poor condition, dehydrated and malnourished. Recovery has begun by trying to calm him down and overcome post-traumatic stress.