Cecil/Morena/Rasta

Birth date according to his passport: 22 April 2014
Arrived at LLA: April 2022
Lives Alone
Tawny Male
Parents: Unknown

Cecil, who we call Morena, a Zulu respectful form of address or reference meaning ‘Sir’ or ‘Master’, given to him by the staff at LLA who revere him, or Rasta because of the dreadlocks that fashion his large mane, came to Love Lions Alive sanctuary from Ukraine after years of effort to rescue him.

He had been living in dire conditions, in a barred cage, as an individual’s “object”. The Love Lions Alive team felt impassioned to take this lion out of his cage in the Ukraine and give him a South African home and a life of dignity and health. People who had witnessed Cecil in the cage warned us that he was an “abnormal” lion, because he banged his head into the bars of his cage repeatedly. This, however, was in response to the life he was being made to live at the time.

Since arriving at Love Lions Alive sanctuary he has become a grounded and calm lion, who loves to stretch out in his new large space and in the African sun. He has come leaps and bounds from the distressed and sickly lion he once was.

Cecil is a gentle, dignified, awe inspiring and magnificent lion, who we are honoured to know and care for. At the moment, Cecil is alone in his enclosure, but we are planning to move him in with Demira, Diya and Frieda when he is strong enough.

Co-Guardian 2024-25

Eliza Kajanus