Rescue Lions Ivan and Cornel

Lions Ivan and Cornel arrived at LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary from Serbia on 25 September 2012.

The brothers were born at Belgrade Zoo in December 2008 and were acquired by a private owner in 2009, before national legislation prohibiting the private ownership of wild animals came into effect in 2012. Due to the substandard conditions in which they were kept and the potential risk they posed to the public, Ivan and Cornel were confiscated by the Serbian CITES Enforcement Authorities.

As Serbia had no suitable zoo facilities or specialised rescue centres able to accommodate the lions, the Serbian authorities requested assistance from FOUR PAWS. Without this intervention, the lions would have faced euthanasia.

Sadly, Lion Ivan passed away in August 2025 at the age of 16. A postmortem examination revealed that he had been suffering from a liver tumour, which was caused by cancer.