Phoenix

Male Puma/Cougar/Mountain lion
Born: 20th October 2010, Bloemfontein Zoo
Arrived at LLA: 16th March 2020
Mother: Cleopatra (Cleo)

Phoenix, an incredibly resilient and magnificent puma, was born in October of 2010. He and his mother, Cleopatra (Cleo), came to us from a zoo that had been shut down in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The zoo had been shut down due to a lack of animal welfare standards, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Department of Environmental Affairs reached out to us to take in two jaguars and two pumas. It was when Love Lions Alive went to collect the cats, alongside the SPCA, DESTEA, Four Paws, Panthera Africa and a specialist veterinarian, that we witnessed the true strength of Phoenix. He had to be sedated several times as he just kept on rising from the sleep- like a Phoenix. 

We had to adapt two vacant lion enclosures by raising the height by one meter and adding three more electric strands to the apron to house the pumas temporarily while we built a species specific enclosure for them. The truth is that these magnificent cats should be out in the rugged mountains of America’s, and not in any kind of enclosure. At Love Lions Alive we only take in “exotic” cats if they are already within South Africa, and do not believe in moving cats out of lands that are native to them. 

Phoenix is headstrong but very shy. He moves like a ghost, and extremely swiftly, suddenly being in front of you when he had not been there before.  We have designed his enclosure with him in mind. It is largely private, has two rocky outcrops, bush and long veld. He can be as ghostly as he likes in here. He loves to disappear into his environment, but he also loves to lay atop one of his boulders, surveying the sanctuary.

Co-Guardian 2024-25

Ana Alcalde (Lions Roar Org)