Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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What started as a lion rescue turned out to be a wild journey to a new life for a young bear as well! 🦁🐻
From private keeping in Albania to wild animal sanctuaries in Germany, this is the story of bear Flora and lion Erion... and of the FOUR PAWS colleagues who brought them to safety. 🛣️

Erion was first brought to our attention after his owner posted about him on social media... The lion was living in poor conditions and is believed to have been trafficked from another Western Balkan country. A first visit led to the discovery of another wild animal kept on site: only 40 meters away, a bear is pacing in her enclosure... Thanks to a lucky turn of events for both species, the authorities, faced with the extremely inadequate conditions the animals were living in, confiscated both and FOUR PAWS teams began their work to prepare the rescue, and the future care in our sanctuaries. 🛟

At the end of 2025, after months of tireless work, the rescue day finally arrives, and Erion and Flora’s journey to a new life begins. ✨🌳
What followed was 72 hours on the road, 6 borders and more than 2,000km of unforeseen events and challenges...Yet, the extraordinary convoy of vets, rescue team and specialised transporters never gave up on their mission to bring the animals to safety. 🚑

How to deal with two wild animals and unplanned delays, what could possibly happen to jeopardise such a large-scale mission and how our experts always overcame the obstacles... All the answers in our video recap! 👀

➡️ The unique character of a rescue involving such different species highlights but one thing: the urgent need to tackle illegal wildlife trade and private keeping. Is our work in Albania only starting? Do you want to see Erion and Flora’s progress in their sanctuaries (TIERART Wild Animal Sanctuary and BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz)?

Subscribe to our channels and follow us on social media for the latest updates! 💌

00:00 Intro
00:24 Pre-visit of the two animals in Albania
01:20 Rescue day
01:34 On site vet check of Erion
02:20 Erion's former enclosure
02:37 On site vet check of Flora and preparation for the journey
03:41 Departure, and new challenges?
04:35 Arrivals in TIERART Wild Animal Sanctuary and BEAR SANCTUARY Müritz
04:27 Erion and Flora today in their respective sanctuaries

#fourpaws #albania #bear #lion

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