Seven lions returned to South African reserve
By helping the NGO Warriors of Wildlife (WOW), Qatar Airways Cargo has kept its promise to fly lions to their natural habitat for free.
It took six months of hard work involving no less than a dozen departments and over 50 employees to ensure a successful operation. Recently, the Kouga and Swinburne nature reserves in South Africa welcomed three lions, one lioness and three cubs.
This involved a three-day trip from Kiev to Doha and Johannesburg so that the lions could walk on grass for the first time in their lives. All are in good health.
Transporting wild animals back to their natural environment for free at the request of wildlife protection bodies is a promise made by Qatar Airways Cargo as part its ‘Rewild the Planet’ initiative.
“Repatriating wild animals is a major undertaking, especially over such a great distance. But we were able to count on the Qatar Airways Cargo teams who are 100% behind us and the work we do,” said Lionel De Lange, Founder and Director of WOW.
“I have great admiration and respect for Lionel and his staff, for all their efforts to ensure wild animals can return to nature,” commented Guillaume Halleux, Chief Officer Cargo, Qatar Airways Cargo.
