Rocky Mountain Wildlife

Conservation Center

Kobu was being kept alive by feeding him dogs from the streets of Mexico City

KOBU

Rescued from a concrete pit near Mexico City, Kobu now lives at the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado.  Nearly 5 years old now, Kobu began his long journey when he was born at an illegal breeding operation and was quickly sold as a “pet lion cub” to a wealthy woman in Mexico.  It didn’t take long before the lion cub grew into a gangly, yet strong, male at 6 months of age - and that’s when he began knocking the lady down.

Lions are very physical animals and regularly crash into each other in a rudimentary display of affection - so Kobu was just doing what came to him naturally… however it was also a dangerous situation as they can react instinctively (just as they do when their prey hits the ground during hunting).

 

As it became evident to the lady just how dangerous this animal was, she sought out a place to dump him, and found a monastery on the edge of Mexico City that said they would take him in.  The head priest that agreed to take the lion knew they needed a safe place to put the young lion, and quickly arranged to have a pit dug to put the lion in.

 

There Kobu stayed until recently when “GPDA” a domestic pet/animal rights organization located in Mexico got involved after they discovered the lion was being fed live dogs taken from the streets of Mexico City.  They were outraged about the situation and began a campaign to secure Kobu’s release to a sanctuary.

Once contacted, our sanctuary began working with GPDA to finalize all the details for Kobu’s rescue.

Kobu was rescued in Early July 2006 and is in the process of being integrated into the pride of African Lions that currently live at the sanctuary.  It will take a while for the whole process to get to the point where he will join the pride, but so far everything seems to be going well, and soon Kobu should be able to live out the rest of his life in a splendid 20-acre habitat.

 

To learn more about Kobu’s rescue go to his rescue journal...

Kobu in Colorado at his new home