Aussie tradies' sacrifice to help lions retired from the circus
Tradesmen are giving up their weekends to construct a retirement home for lions in regional NSW.
At the end of his hard working week, handyman Robert Gualtieri, 46, donates his time and labour at Zambi Wildlife Retreat at Wallacia, 60km west of Sydney.
Mr Gualtieri told Yahoo News Australia that he has donated a month’s worth of work over the past year, and encouraged 12 tradie friends to do the same.
The volunteers are constructing a veterinary building and an enclosure to house three 15-year-old lions who have retired after a life in show business.
The new residents – Kovu, Kiara and Maisie – arrived at the sanctuary after performing for the last time with Lennon Brothers Circus in late 2018.
Mr Gualtieri spoke to Yahoo News Australia as he was installing air conditioning in one of the buildings.
“All my friends just come up out of the goodness of their hearts and help – it’s unreal,” he said.
“They’re all out here in the rain, working in their muddy boots and everyone’s still going.”
He says he is inspired by Donna Wilson, of Zambi Wildlife Retreat, and her dedication to the big cats.
“Donna’s just so passionate about what she does,” he said.
Ms Wilson cofounded Zambi in 2012 to provide a home for exotic animals who have retired from zoos, circuses and the entertainment industry.
The sanctuary, largely funded by donations, houses a number of big cats, but also primates, exotic birds and farm animals.
“We’re the only one of its kind in Australia,” Ms Wilson told Yahoo News Australia.
“We’re not a zoo, we’re a resort style retreat for animals.”
She said the new lion enclosure is being built using funds donated by the Lennon circus family.
“The lions are very affectionate to their handlers through the fence – I couldn’t believe how friendly they were when they first came in,” she said.
“They’ve been hand raised by humans and have obviously been well treated.
“They just love human interaction.”
Running a large sanctuary without the income of ticket sales, takes novel thinking.
In total, their big cats eat around 650kg of meat a week, with a typical male lion needing 25kg of food to maintain its condition.
“We don’t actually pay for meat – if we had to pay for it we would be broke,” Ms Wilson said.
“We actually do a service for the local dairy farmers in the neighbouring suburbs.
“Let’s just say a cow breaks its hip, they call us – we go out and shoot the cow.
“So, touch wood, we’ve never had to pay for meat yet.”
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Ms Wilson said it is incredible the way the community has come together to support the charity.
“Sometimes you start to lose hope at humankind with the cruelty you see in the world, and then you see goodness is still out there,” she said.
“I’m amazed by the support we receive from volunteers and even corporates too.
“Obviously there’s still a lot of big animal lovers who believe in what we’re doing.”
People wishing to find out more about what Zambi is doing to house exotic animals can do so here.
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