How a Journalist Searched for a 'Moaning Lion' and Found It
It all started with a post in an animal help group: a man wrote about a lion locked in a trailer in a parking lot in Rostov, which «moans at night.» This post spread on social media, and several of our readers sent it to the editorial office. Concerned residents feared that a visiting circus had forgotten the animal and it was freezing right now.
161.RU went in search of the lion. Read about how it ended in our article.
«A hungry and freezing lion moans at night»
On January 15, messages from a man named Vladimir appeared in Rostov«s animal protection communities. He said that near the Topos hotel on Nagibina there is a trailer, allegedly abandoned by a traveling circus.
«The circus left the hotel square and went in an unknown direction! However, it abandoned two long trailers, in one of which a hungry and freezing lion moans at night! My heart is torn with pity and tears!» read the post.
The 161.RU editorial office contacted Vladimir. He said he is undergoing treatment in Rostov and has been living in the Topos for several months. When he goes out to the smoking area, he hears the lion«s roar. Due to concerns about the animal, Vladimir filed a report with the police. In comments on the post on social media, Rostov residents wrote that they called the emergency number 112.
«We who live in the hotel go out to the smoking area. And the lion roars all night. We aren»t going to break open that trailer. Especially since it«s not a cat or a dog, it»s a lion. <…> It«s an African animal, it must be suffering from the cold, crying. My heart is already bleeding,» Vladimir said.
He only heard the lion at night. During the day, he often wasn«t at the hotel, so he didn»t see if anyone entered the trailer at all.
«What lion?»
We asked hotel representatives if they knew about the trailer with a wild animal under the windows and if other guests had complained about the growling.
«I have no information on this matter. No one complained,» a hotel representative stated.
161.RU found information that the Circus of the Dovgalyuk Dynasty was on tour in the area of the DonExpoCenter. But they assured that they have no relation to the trailers at the Topos.
«This is not about our circus,» Victoria Dovgalyuk, one of the circus managers, told the correspondent.
The editorial office turned to the management of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations (EMERCOM) for help. They assured that they also had not received information about a wild animal.
«What lion, what cage? There»s a touring circus there,« said the rescue department.
The Rostov police also could not promptly confirm information about Vladimir«s report. And he himself could not provide the editorial office with photos or videos confirming his words.
So it was completely unclear whether the lion even existed.
«It moans like a person, across the entire square. <…> Maybe it»s already dying there. Keeping African animals in such frost... It«s animal torture,» Vladimir insisted.
«We don»t know what animals are there«
The story about the lion interested Rostov animal rights activists. Late in the evening on January 15, they went to the location.
«They [the volunteers] went there late in the evening. Someone even talked to a trainer,» animal rights activist and volunteer Alena Kravtsova told 161.RU.
According to her, the volunteers were not allowed inside, and who exactly is kept in the trailer was not reliably known to them.
At the DonExpoCenter itself, 161.RU was told that the trailers are parked near the building by agreement and a special vehicle is coming for them.
«This is all part of the circus»s departure. Due to heavy precipitation, the vehicle is delayed. There is a trainer, there is food, there is heat. The trailers are insulated,« explained the DonExpoCenter.
But even there, they did not know which animal is kept in the trailer.
«I know there is a trailer. It will leave in the coming days. But specifically, what animals are there, we don»t know. We have no direct relation to this,« they answered us at the DonExpoCenter.
«You can»t leave animals anywhere«
We went to the DonExpoCenter and Topos to sort out the situation on the spot. In the morning, Vladimir, who first reported the lion, was also there.
Near the hotel, not far from the smoking area, two large trailers were parked. We were met by their owners—Alexander Bukin and Galina Karpenko, trainers.
They said they came to Rostov with animals and family two weeks ago. Their performances lasted a week. According to Bukin, he works as an individual entrepreneur, but concludes a temporary cooperation agreement with circuses.
«We are hired artists. We can work in this circus, we can work in another,» Bukin explains.
And yes, there really is a lion in the trailer. Only it«s a lioness, named Lada.
Besides Lada, several dogs and cats are kept in cages. They all participate in circus shows.
Bukin told the correspondent that he saved Lada eight years ago in Dagestan. He bought her from a photographer who used the lion cub for photo sessions.
«We are never home. You can»t leave animals anywhere. We are always with them,« says the trainer.
He shows the setup of the trailers. They have generators for heat and light, a special compartment for hay.
He calls the concern of animal rights activists «pleasant,» because it means that people care about animals. But, in the trainer«s opinion, everything should have its limit. There have been cases when concerned members of the public broke into his trailer in the middle of the night.
According to Bukin, working with the lioness is scary, «only a fool is not afraid.» For this, they undergo special training and consult with more experienced trainers.
Vladimir, after looking at the trailer and meeting Lada, softened. He even wrote a statement that he withdraws his report to the police. He gave the paper to Bukin in case the police come to him.
The trainers are supposed to leave by the end of next week. They are now waiting for the necessary veterinary documents.
And below, watch the video with Lada.
