{"id":21726,"date":"2026-07-27T18:43:05","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/21726\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T18:43:05","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T18:43:05","slug":"rescued-lynx-takes-first-steps-after-fleeing-war-torn-ukraine-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/21726\/","title":{"rendered":"Rescued lynx takes first steps after fleeing war-torn Ukraine | News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"image\"<\/p>\n

Ursa the lynx. (SWNS)<\/p>\n

By Ed Chatterton<\/p>\n

A Eurasian lynx<\/a> found living in appalling conditions in war-torn Ukraine has taken her first steps on grass for the first time in her life after being rescued by a UK animal sanctuary.<\/p>\n

The traumatized big cat named Ursa was found seriously ill in January this year after being illegally kept as a private pet in Kyiv.<\/p>\n

She was moved to a wild animal rescue center in the Ukrainian capital<\/a> while the war raged and bombs continued to fall in the surrounding area.<\/p>\n

The Big Cat Sanctuary<\/a> near Ashford, Kent, raised over \u00a3134,000 ($178,890) needed to evacuate Ursa and bring her to a new home in Britain.<\/p>\n

Staff embarked upon a “high risk” mission to rescue the big cat<\/a>, which included navigating an active war zone and complex border crossings.<\/p>\n

After flying her back to safety in February she was then moved into a temporary enclosure while a specially built new one could be built.<\/p>\n

This week she took her first steps on grass outdoors for the first time after the purpose-built enclosure was finally opened.<\/p>\n

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The lynx was rescued from Ukraine. (SWNS)<\/p>\n

By Talker<\/p>\n

Cam Whitnall, wildlife expert and managing director of The Big Cat Sanctuary<\/a>, said “To see Ursa take her first steps here in Kent was an incredibly emotional moment for the whole team.<\/p>\n

“This mission was fraught with unpredictability, navigating a war zone with a vulnerable apex predator, but seeing her safe makes every risk worthwhile.<\/p>\n

“Ursa has spent her life under the shadow of conflict and neglect; now, that story has changed. She is finally in her forever home”.<\/p>\n

Ursa was moved into the new home alongside other wild cats previously rescued in the UK, including another Eurasian lynx called Rhys, a bobcat called Blob and a fishing cat named Boson.<\/p>\n

Cam added: “Today represents a huge milestone not only for our sanctuary, but for the future conservation of smaller wild cat species globally.<\/p>\n

“While the larger apex predators often dominate the headlines, these smaller cats face severe threats in the wild from habitat loss and human encroachment.<\/p>\n

“By combining world-class welfare with cutting-edge technology, we are securing a sustainable future population and ensuring these remarkable animals are no longer overlooked.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ursa the lynx. (SWNS) By Ed Chatterton A Eurasian lynx found living in appalling conditions in war-torn Ukraine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21727,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8069],"class_list":["post-21726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","tag-ed-chatterton"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21726"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21726\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ukraine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}