(2 Mar 2023)
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Chubynske, Kyiv region - 1 March 2023
1. Various of lion with shell shock
2. Founder of shelter for wild animals Natalia Popova opening gates
3. Popova stroking tiger
4. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Natalia Popova, shelter founder:
"Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion by Russia, we are now doing nothing but rescuing animals from the war. Mostly these are abandoned animals whose owners have left. The animals have been abandoned and they are sitting there without water and food, and our military finds them and reports them to various animal protection organizations."
5. Various of tiger
6. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Natalia Popova, shelter founder:
"Now he is slowly recovering, he is getting up on his paws, he is walking, even his fur has started to grow back. I hope that he will be fine."
7. Various of white tiger Aleks
8. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Natalia Popova, shelter founder:
"This war, you could say, gave wild animals a chance because they had no way out of that cramped cage on the concrete. During this war, when their owners abandoned them, the military found them and we rescued them. We can say that the war gave them a chance for a normal life in decent conditions."
9. Various of a caged leopard
10. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Natalia Popova, shelter founder:
"It's getting harder and harder to keep animals because there are so many of them. I now have eleven lions, two tigers, a leopard, not to mention small animals like foxes, raccoon dogs, raccoons, birds, swans, lemurs - you name it. There is a lot of everything. I need 127 kilograms of meat a day right now."
11. Various of lion playing
12. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Natalia Popova, shelter founder:
"Every life is important. I believe that every Ukrainian should do what they can in this war which is of use. I can do it, so I do it. And I save wild animals in general, because this is our future, because every animal, every plant, every insect, every bird on this planet has a certain function. If you take away one species, it will change the climate, the ecology. These will be terrible consequences. That's why I chose the path of saving wild animals."
13. Yawning lion
STORYLINE:
Natalia Popova has created a shelter for many animals in Ukraine which have been rescued form the conflict which has engulfed the country.
Among the animals she is caring for are lions, tigers and a leopard.
Popova, who founded the wild animal shelter in 2018, stayed to help rescue animals in need after the full-scale invasion began in February last year.
She has saved 600 animals during that time, 200 of which had to be taken to other countries for treatment.
Popova says most of the animals had been abandoned without food or water.
One of the lions rescued now has shellshock and problems with coordination.
"Our military finds them and reports them to various animal protection organizations," she said
"I now have eleven lions, two tigers, a leopard. Not to mention small animals like foxes, raccoon dogs, raccoons, birds, swans, lemurs - you name it. There is a lot of everything. I need 127 kilograms (19 stone) of meat a day right now," she said.
"Every life is important. I believe that every Ukrainian should do what they can in this war. I can do it, so I do it," Popova said.
AP video shot by Inna Varenytsia.
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