This Lion’s Happiness is Infectious! Watch As His Paws Touch Grass for the First Time Ever

[Omaha Steve]

http://blog.theanimalrescuesite.com/lion-grass/

After years of physical and psychological abuse, Will the lion (formerly known as “Baby”) was rescued from a traveling circus by the RioZoo in Brazil, and taken to the Rancho dos Gnomos sanctuary with the hopes of giving him a better life.

Unfortunately, even at the zoo, Will was never allowed to experience a world outside of cold cement and metal bars. For thirteen years, he had never once felt a blade of grass, or even a simple clump of dirt.

The staff at Gnomos knew this, and they also knew that every animal on this planet deserves the right to a peaceful, natural life.

Returning Will to the wild would be unrealistic — having grown up entirely in captivity, Will missed out on crucial survival skill development. So they did the next best thing, and built him a home of his own, full of grass, stones, and plenty of room to run around.

When Will enters his home for the very first time, it’s clear that he can’t believe his eyes. But, just as any good cat, he adapts quickly to his new, tranquil life.

Watch an exhilarated Will the lion as his paws touch the earth for the very first time:

FULL story at link.

[MoonRiver]

1. Poor, poor baby.

At least now he has a small semblance of a normal life.

[cali]

2. That made me tear up. Beautiful old Will deserves every second

of happiness he finds in his new home. May he have many years to enjoy it.

[narnian60]

3. Oh, my.

It takes so little to make an animal happy. Thank you, kind humans. Tears here.

[eloydude]

4. I just learned about Wild Animal Sanctuary

in Keenesburg, Colorado, a hour's drive northeast of Denver.

They have 400 animals, on a 720 acre site. Bears, tigers, and lions, plus many more animals there.

They just received $1,200 from one grade in my son's school lower division (his was Canine Partners of the Rockies, a good cause, raised $995)

I had read about a recent rescue from Peru - 33 lions from a circus that was in the process of being transferred to WAS.

http://www.wildanimalsanctuary.org/

[fizzgig]

25. i visited there four years ago

and it was really neat. i need to talk my husband into taking me back.

[BlueJazz]

5. Well..I have no idea what this stuff is but I like it !!

[3catwoman3]

6. Oh, sweet and heartbreaking at the same time.

[Human101948]

7. That music is intolerable...

The lion should not be in a cage.

[KitSileya]

8. And perhaps you should bother reading the accompanying text!

Will the lion would never survive in the wild because he has lived in a concrete and metal cage all his life. What they did was build him a home with grass and trees and rocks where he'll be safe and enjoy his life.

[Human101948]

36. Just a general observation...

that animals should not be caged up for people to gawk at. Too late for this one obviously.

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

18. I watched it in silence

no words are needed to see the connection to mother earth.
We are all one.

[calimary]

21. THIS ^^^^^^^^^^

You said it all, WHEN CRABS ROAR. You said it all. We human animals have it, too, although it's been long suppressed.

[whathehell]

27. I like the music. I think it fits the video.

[Duppers]

9. So sweet.

He also needs some toys such as a big ball for his big new enclosure.

Thanks for this uplifting post, Steve.

[woo me with science]

11. He needs friends.

The video made me cry, too.

[Duppers]

12. Thanks. That was my first thought too.

I hope they get around to finding another lion or two for him.

[Beartracks]

16. From 1:19 to 1:37 -- Isn't that another lion pacing in the neighboring enclosure?

With his positive energy, he should be a big hit with the ladies.

=================

[jwirr]

10. For years people have taken their children to the circus with not thought of the living animals in

cages. I think that is changing for the good.

I like it that our zoos are working at giving the animals a more realistic space and there are enough animals that need sanctuaries to fill them. I have visited a zoo in New Jersey (I think) were you drove through the grounds and could see the animals.

When we got to the monkey part there was a sign telling us that if we wanted to we could exit before going into this part. We had no idea why so we went into the monkey part. It was absolutely funny. The monkey's would come and set on top of your car and take a ride. (Sometimes they broke something on the car - hence the sign.) One mother was holding her tiny little baby right beside the road as if to show him/her the nutty visitors.

This is not ideal for the animals but if for some reason they cannot live in the wild then these open space zoos are the next best thing.

I suspect it will not be long before we need to rescue a lot of polar bears etc.

[Duppers]

13. Indeed. Polar bears are now dying.

Not enough zoos to take care of them.

[jwirr]

14. I suspect that many zoos do not want them because they are a cold weather animal and that is

hard to create in many parts of the world.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

29. I'm dubious even of zoos, but with the speed at which we are destroying natural habitat and

pushing species into extinction, I look at them as seed banks in a way, finding ways to keep species alive until such time as mankind can grow past the desire to kill animals for sport or purported 'medicinal qualities', or ivory or furs, and they can be reintroduced slowly into the wild. Individual animals in zoos might be psychotic as a result of their living conditions, but they may also be the only way to keep the species alive. (Housemate wanted to go to the local zoo this last Christmas for the 'Festival of Lights', and I can't forget the poor arctic fox, mechanically running back and forth between two fences over and over and over, as if it thought that just maybe something would change and it could escape the loud piped in Christmas music and find some peace somewhere.)

[jwirr]

30. I agree that we need to watch them to make sure that they are taking good care of the animals.

And some animals like the fox are never going to be happy in confinement no matter how big it is. I do think that we have been using zoos as protection for some of them for quite a while already.

[BrotherIvan]

15. I guess no matter how big the cat, they're all the same

That is EXACTLY what my cats do when I take them outside for their supervised time. Except that guys paws are huge. So happy he is away from that place but so sad that he had to endure it so long. How we can do that to such majestic creatures is completely beyond me.

[awoke_in_2003]

17. Thanks Steve...

that is exactly what I needed for the start of what will be a long work day (12hours)

[TexasMommaWithAHat]

19. Oh poor lion couldn't even run.

He bunny hopped.

I wonder if he will ever learn to run.

[spooky3]

32. From my experience with little cat rescue, I would

Be willing to bet you he will be running within weeks, barring a permanent injury.

Thanks for the wonderful video and to the wonderful people responsible for his new life.

[calimary]

20. Such a CAT!

Shoot! I've seen that same behavior from all our cats - the long stretching of the forearms and clawing and gripping at the carpet or the scratching pad. The rolling over and scratching their backs on the grass or, as indoor cats, the carpet or throw rug or cat mat. Or digging their noses in, upside down, as though to scratch their noses or snouts. I've seen our dog do that, too.

A happy ending for sure!

[Liberal_in_LA]

22. ..

[Duval]

23. Beautiful to watch, even with the

tears. Thanks Omaha Steve for such a heart warming video.

[herding cats]

24. You could tell he'd always wanted to do that!

It was as if he was saying, "Wow! So this is what dirt, and grass feel like? I've always wanted to touch these! OMG is that a tree with bark over there? I've got to touch that too!"

It's a bittersweet joy his last five years of life were happier than his first thirteen. He deserved some joy.

[Scootaloo]

34. He's definitely reveling in the sensations

Concrete zoos are like sensory deprivation chambers - at least for mammals, probably for other animals as well.

here's a critter who perceives the world through his nose, tongue, ears, and skin before his eyes. He's been locked in a concrete box his whole life, surrounded only by his own smell and taste, with the only ound those of humans, the feel of flat stoniness around him.

And then poof, he's somewhere else, somewhere that, for all of its own flaws, has sounds, scents, tastes, textures. he can put his nose into the grass and smell what's under it, taste the grass, his whiskers and nose pad can feel a vole scampering a few yards away, all while he listens to the birds and other cats.

[hifiguy]

26. That is a huge day-brightener.

Who's chopping onions in here?

No matter the size, a cat is a cat.

Thanks for this one, Steve!

[secondwind]

28. so CRUEL to keep an animal away from grass and nature.. it's not right!

[raouldukelives]

31. K&R nt

[bearssoapbox]

33. There's something wrong with the video.

About 30 seconds in, it started getting blurry.

I'm glad that he had 5 years to feel dirt, grass and being able to stretch as only a cat can stretch using a scratching post/tree.

[DFW]

35. "This video is not available in your country"

WTF?

[BumRushDaShow]

37. There are a number of versions (and lengths) of the same video available

The music in first is different from the OP version. The 2nd longer version has no music at all. Hopefully you can view either of these...