Five lions including three cubs evacuated from Ukraine have found temporary refuge in Poznan in western Poland, the city’s zoo said Wednesday.

“The lions are safe and sound,” Remigiusz Kozinski of the zoo’s education department told AFP.

“They arrived here on Tuesday. We had to tranquilise them when they arrived. They came quietly into their new cages,” he added.

The lion in the group was separated from the lioness, which is with the three cubs, said Kozinksi. “They are adapting to their new conditions.”

The new arrivals are to stay at Poznan for the next few weeks before moving on to establishments in other countries, he added.

“The evacuation of these big cats was made possible thanks to the collaboration between the International Federation for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Wild Animal Rescue, UAnimals and Poznan zoo,” said a statement Wednesday from IFAW.

The lioness, three-year-old Asya, had been rescued while heavily pregnant from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, it added. She had her cubs, Teddi, Emi and Santa in October.

“They are fortunate to still be nursing from the mother, and have had little human interaction,” the IFAW said.

The two-year-old lion, Viseris, while rescued from the same private facility, was not believed to be related to the others.

“These are the unexpected victims of this war,” said Natalia Gozak of IFAW.

“Lions that should be roaming the plains of Africa have instead been found in backyard breeding facilities in my country ravaged by Russian invasion.

“As their owners were forced to flee, they were left to languish,” she added.

Since most big cats bred in captivity cannot be released back into the wild, Poznan Zoo and its partners have identified suitable homes in Europe and beyond.

The zoo has already taken in around 200 animals from Ukraine, which officials there have moved out of the country because of the war. They include lions, tigers, wolves and bears. (AFP)

Sedated three-year old lioness Asya secured in a transport crate as preparations are under way for her move out of war-torn Ukraine to Poland. (AFP)

•Sedated three-year old lioness Asya secured in a transport crate as preparations are under way for her move out of war-torn Ukraine to Poland

Update news