(CNN) – Nine lions that were rescued from Ukraine have arrived safely at their new home in Colorado.The big cats were “urgently relocated” from Bio Park Zoo in Odessa, Ukraine, when the Russian invasion first began, according to a news release from The Wild Animal Sanctuary.
A convoy transported the lions from Odessa across Moldova to Romania; their journey stretched for over 600 miles, says the sanctuary.
They arrived at the Targu Mures Zoo in Romania's Transylvania region on May 24.The lions spent months at the zoo waiting for an emergency travel permit so they could board a rescue flight, according to the sanctuary.
They finally arrived in their final homes on September 29.Seven adult lions and two cubs from the rescued pride are now being cared for by The Wild Animal Sanctuary, a nonprofit based in Keenesburg, Colorado.