‘Will’ the lion was rescued from a travelling circus when he was 13 years old. Prior to then, he had never felt grass under paw – only cold steel bars and concrete.
An organisation called RioZoo in Brazil rescued Will and took him to a sanctuary in hope of giving him a much better life than the years of physical and psychological abuse he had suffered at the hands of his ‘trainers’.
After all, every animal deserves the right to a peaceful life – and to live in a natural habitat.
As Will had never set foot outside of a cage or performing arena, there was no way he could be re-assimilated into the wild. So the staff at Ranchos dos Gnomos animal sanctuary did the next best thing and built him his own yard, complete with grass, dirt and play things.
This all happened in 2006 and, sadly, Will died in 2011, but not before enjoying five years of peace and bliss in his new home. The footage of his first day in his very own sanctuary was released last week – and his reaction to touching grass and dirt and getting used to his new surroundings for the very first time is truly priceless.
Why not watch and share with us your reaction?
