The director of an animal rescue center located amidst a conflict zone shared with the BBC the daunting challenges faced while evacuating stranded animals, including lions and hyenas, to safety.
Osman Salih described the recent efforts as “nerve-wracking couple of days” to relocate the animals from the Sudan Animal Rescue center situated on the outskirts of Khartoum, the capital.
Since the onset of conflict seven months ago between Sudan’s national army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), managing the animals and arranging essential supplies, notably food, has been an uphill task.
“It was a very difficult task, we had a lot of our cars stolen that we used to bring supplies with… we had our base raided several times,” Osman Salih told the BBC’s Newsday programme.
Initially housing 23 lions, six hyenas, and 30 other species, the center has seen some animals succumb to illnesses due to the inability to access veterinary care or medical provisions.
Evacuating from an RSF-controlled area required navigating permissions, coordinating communications between conflicting sides, and extensive planning, making it an “almost impossible task” fraught with risks for the team, he highlighted.
Presently, the animals are undergoing rehabilitation in a safer location outside the capital. Salih mentioned plans for resettling them in environments suitable for their species, with numerous offers from locations both within and outside the country.
