PREVIEW

Two leopards are roaming wild in the African sun after being freed from prison-like captivity.

Mother and daughter Alda and Ginny, aged fourteen and eight, were sprung from an illegal breeding facility in Poland in 2017.

The duo fell prey to illegal wildlife trafficking and were saved from appalling conditions.

Police raids revealed the leopards, alongside other animals, were cramped in squalid, inhumane conditions, and confined to a tiny, dark, cell with very little outside space.

Whilst the pair’s potential fate will never be fully known, it’s possible they could have been sold into a life of exploitation in a circus, into captivity in an unaccredited zoo, or even as body ‘parts’, fuelling the vile international trade in big-cat skins and bones, used by some for ‘traditional medicine’.

Their plight caught the attention of the Belgian wildlife rescue centre, Natuurhulpcentrum (NHC), which provided temporary refuge and rehabilitative care. After battling bureaucratic hurdles for years to secure the necessary permits, Born Free, in collaboration with NHC and other partners, meticulously planned the leopards' relocation.

This week, Alda and Ginny travelled more than eight thousand miles by road and air on international and domestic flights, to reach their destination, Born Free’s Big Cat Sanctuary at Shamwari on South Africa’s Eastern Cape.

After their epic journey, the leopards were released on Wednesday (1May24) into a still, bright morning surrounded by sunshine and birdsong. Initially, both Alda and Ginny took tentative steps out of their crates, sniffing the South African soil beneath their paws and carefully examining their new surroundings.

The animal care team at Shamwari were thrilled to see both leopards looking relaxed and very quickly starting to explore the natural bush of their 2.5-acre enclosure, taking in the sights sounds and smells of their ‘forever’ home.

Within half an hour the mother and daughter had found each other and were reunited, both looking well and enjoying the privacy of the thickets and dense bush.

The Born Free team will now be monitoring the leopards, giving them the dedicated, expert care they deserve for the rest of their lives.