When we first met him, Diego was frozen in fear. His big eyes were cautiously following every movement we made. And even though he didn’t move, you could see that he was ready to defend himself if anyone came closer to him.  

His past experiences must have taught him that humans couldn’t be trusted. They had transformed this mighty lion into a pale shadow of himself. Unfortunately, we don’t know the full details of exactly what happened to Diego before he was rescued, but our experts noticed that he seems to be very nervous around new people. We can only assume what he had to endure, but it is likely that he was abused in the past.

Diego was born in 2016 into private ownership in the Czech Republic before being sold for hunting. He was then rescued by a compassionate animal welfare activist and taken to a private big cat facility for temporary care. There Diego benefited from an appropriate diet and vaccinations, but the plan was always to move him to a sanctuary. However, despite many efforts, Diego was unable to find a species-appropriate home where he can get the care he deserves – until now.

We are delighted to say that as of November 2024, Diego's new forever home is at our FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary in the Netherlands, which specializes in the care of traumatized big cats. Over the years, we have been able to help 23 rescued big cats recover under the expert care of the sanctuary’s staff and caretakers. 

At FELIDA, Diego is now taking the time he needs to settle in to his new surroundings while being monitored by our dedicated on-site team. Soon he will finally be released into his outdoor enclosure —and get a fresh start in life in a species-appropriate environment, with all the care he deserves. In the future, we hope to socialize him with former circus lioness Manuschka who recently arrived at FELIDA so that both lions don’t have to spend their lives alone.

Stay tuned for updates about his life at his new forever home and how he will get on with Manuschka.