With all of the images and stories about the animals dying in the Australia fires making a big impact on the internet in recent weeks, animal welfare is on everyone’s mind. Now pictures of malnourished lions in Sudan are circulating, too, due to a recent post that’s going viral. The images are incredibly difficult to look at as the lions are terribly sick and barely able to move about.
Photos of five lions at Al-Qureshi Park, which is in the capital city of Khartoum, show some of the thin creatures, mostly sprawled out on the ground. It’s clear they haven’t been fed properly for a long time. The sad images sparked an outrage worldwide and inspired a hashtag called #SudanAnimalRescue.
Osman Salih was the person who saw the lions over the weekend and posted the now viral images. It has sparked a huge conversation online on behalf of the lions, as well as a major movement to help the desperately sick animals.
“After seeing the fires in Australia kill so many precious creatures recently seeing these animals caged and be treated this way made my blood boil,” he wrote in a Jan. 18 Facebook post.
The original post showed extremely jarring pictures of the animals, and it is all too easy to see how thin they are.
“I would like to inform you that we have contacted the park administration and they indicated to us that the wildlife police are responsible for these animals and their care and cleanliness and that they were constantly preparing their food but stopped for a while,” he wrote. Quickly, the hashtag he used started gaining traction. #SudanAnimalRescue has helped get some attention for the animals who are in such dire condition.
“The park holds the wildlife police directly responsible for the deteriorating condition of the lions, and stated that the income of the park for a month is not enough to feed one lion for a week," he continued.
The creatures are so beautiful and majestic. It's hard to look at these images that show them so weak and thin.
“The issue is not simply food but most importantly the animals need detailed and special treatment to rid them of infections and issues probably brought about from infested meat and poor diet,” Salih added. Luckily, some organizations have stepped up and been willing to help. The organization Four Paws soon got involved after the online story gained traction.
The saddest part of the story is that no one is hurting these animals intentionally. Officials at Al-Qureshi Park say food has become increasingly difficult to obtain due to the country’s economic hardships. “Food is not always available so often we buy it from our own money to feed them,” park manager Essamelddine Hajjar told global news agency Agence France-Presse.
The situation is incredibly troubling. But it looks like progress is being made. On Sunday, Osman updated followers on Facebook with a post saying, "Today was a positive day at Qurashi Park. We had good meetings with the park administration and the wildlife police." Much of this is due to that viral post, no question about it!
The post continued, "It is important to note that it was at least very good seeing all the high level people concerned meet at such short notice. Even though the responsibility for the care and food of the animals was not agreed upon by the authorities. There was good media coverage as well."
"Lots of fresh meat was brought by several [donors] as well as two sheep. Supply of regular meat from factories and slaughter houses was also secured," he shared. "Managed to buy all required medical supplies for emergency care such as antibiotics, IV drip etc… Big medical team was focusing on the most malnourished and sick female and administered lots of doses and injections." This update was a big relief to many.
Still, not all updates were good ones. Sadly, on Monday he had another update. He revealed that one of the lions had died. People expressed their utter sadness over the lion's death on Facebook. In just a day since the post, there were already several hundred comments.
The situation at Al-Qureshi Park is incredibly sad. Luckily, social media and one concerned citizen are not going to let this continue. The efforts underway are huge. Hopefully, they make a big impact. It looks like that impact has already begun, too.
This most recent video shows one of the lions feasting on some meat that was just brought in.
