The “loneliest lion in the world” spent five years abandoned at a private zoo in Armenia before being released back into the wild.

teenager lion Ruben was a member of a pride that resided in the now-closed zoo, but he was left behind in a small concrete cell for five lonely years while all the other lions were transferred.

Ruben has already traveled 5,200 miles to South Africa, where he made his first forays outside of his travel container and into the ancestral home.

Animals Defenders International (ADI) and Qatar Airways Cargo coordinated the epic trek.

In South Africa’s Free State, at the ADI Wildlife Sanctuary, Ruben is currently undergoing rehabilitation.

‘Lions are the most sociable of the big cats, living in family prides in the wild,’ ADI President Jan Creamer stated.

‘Seeing him walk on grass for the first time, hearing voices of his own kind, with the African sun on his back, brought us all to tears.’

Ruben’s legs initially wobbled from hunger and a ‘lifetime of no exercise.’

But everyone in the sanctuary is in awe of Ruben’s tenacity. He emerged from his travel crate,

followed a trail of sausages to his first toy, a huge catnip punchbag, and began playing with it right away.

Ruben has already begun to roar again after years of not hearing other lions, his morning sounds becoming increasingly louder as he regains his confidence.

‘His entire manner has changed; his face is calm and fearless no longer. His perseverance in walking is encouraging’ Creamer remarked.

‘If he trips or falls, he simply gets back up and resumes moving. He is heroic in every way.

ADI initially struggled to locate him a flight out of Armenia, but Qatar Airways Cargo’s ‘WeQare’ charitable program stepped in.

They changed the scheduled passenger route out of Yerevan to accommodate a bigger plane with hold doors large enough for Ruben’s crate.

Elisabeth Oudkerk, SVP Cargo Sales & Network Planning at Qatar Airways Cargo, stated: ‘There are many logistics involved in moving animals like Ruben,

from the logistics at the airports involved, the process for loading and unloading the animals from the aircraft to ensuring the correct cages and wellbeing of the animals are in place.

The organization of such shipping requires a lot of work from our team, but we are all collectively very glad to be a part of it because we know we are helping the environment.