To prevent the situation from escalating, Eva was moved to live with Christiaan, an older lion who sadly lost his partner to old age.
News from the wild
The Circle of Life: Eva’s New Chapter as a Mother
After being rescued from a South African canned hunting farm, all seemed to be well for the pride of four – Georges, Julie, Elma, and Eva.
They were living together in the same enclosure at Bela Bela sanctuary when the team witnessed Eva being bullied and ostracised. This might have been because Eva is the youngest out of the four.
Eva and Christiaan are getting along well. Maybe a little too well…
In mid-March, Eva gave birth to three beautiful and healthy cubs. No one expected that because Christiaan underwent a vasectomy about 12 years ago. As he is a lot older now, we do not want to risk putting him under the knife and anaesthesia again, therefore, collectively, the team decided to have Eva spayed.
The darting process took about 45 mins. The journey to the vet was definitely a sight for the locals because it’s not every day an unconscious lion gets transported through a South African city. The operation lasted roughly two hours and was free of complications.
We isolated Eva for a day to let her recuperate and the day after, she was already up and running with Christiaan.
Eva’s cubs are called Dingaan, Daisha, and Deeka.
Dingaan is the sole male, his mellow personality balances out the energy of the three siblings.
Daisha is the female with light fur, she is bossy and seems to be the alpha as of now. Deeka, the other female but with dark fur, is feisty and has the biggest appetite.
Because Eva is a young and inexperienced mother, and Christiaan was seen committing infanticide, the team decided to interfere and raise the cubs. The three are bottle-fed every three hours and are growing really fast. For the next six months, the cubs have to be checked by the vet on a monthly basis. A larger enclosure has already been built for them, where the cubs will be transferred once they are weaned.
Get the full story!
This post refers to one of our projects. Read more about the related project to find out the background of this story.
Spread the news!
Help us increasing social commitment in saving endangered wild species. Express your support by sharing this article in your favorite social media channel.
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Pinterest
WhatsApp
Email
You may also like...
Project update
August 10, 2025
Every year, on August 10th, we celebrate World Lion Day. For us, the day is important for several reasons: We Raise Awareness: we highlight the decline of lion populations and the threats they face, such as habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict,
Project update
August 1, 2025
A horrible killing has just happened on our doorsteps in Zimbabwe and left 10 cubs orphan. The famous Blondie The Lion has been killed for a trophy, just similar to the killing of Cecil. Blondie, the 5-year-old male lion, was
News
July 21, 2025
On a peaceful Sunday in Victoria Falls, our rangers are out patrolling the bush, mitigating the ever present poaching threat. It’s been a pretty quiet period for our Unit over the last few weeks. But today reminded us that we
Project update
July 5, 2025
Across Türkiye, a catastrophe is unfolding as wildfires rage out of control. Twelve cities are battling flames, with over 350 separate fires burning simultaneously. The situation grows more dire by the hour as strong winds push the fires forward at
Project update
June 30, 2025
Recently, the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit achieved a significant success with the arrest of five suspects found in possession of illegal wildlife contraband, including ivory, pangolin scales, and snares. Thanks to our expanding informer network, crucial intelligence was quickly acted
Project update
June 21, 2025
The rhino conservation of Wild at Life e.V. and Insimbi Legacy Projects continues to strengthen efforts to protect White Rhinos in the Limpopo region of South Africa. Operating on a 5,000-hectare reserve in the Capricorn District, this joint mission combines
Stay informed!
Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with our activities!
By subscribing you consent to our Privacy Policy