Embraced by the majestic bedrock of LIONSROCK Big Cat Sanctuary, quintuplets Roman, Vincent, Dolf, Ellie, and Geena can be seen roaming around, having fun and enjoying the amenities in their species-appropriate enclosure. 

Dolf is the most sensitive of the four and very shy. The journey of Dolf; from sadness to special care in FELIDA Big Cat Sanctuary in the Netherlands, to his spacious forever home in LIONSROCK, began in September 2021 when FOUR PAWS embarked on one of their extraordinary rescue missions in Romania. 

Nine lions, including the quintuplets, were kept under desperate conditions in the village of Picior de Munte in Romania. Dolf was kept as a pet in a small backyard and caged in a tiny and unsafe enclosure, with barely any space to move around and abused for commercial profit and human amusement. Deprived of the opportunity to develop and fulfil the full range of his natural needs 

and interests, he was subjected to continuous misery, stress and fear. Dolf was born on the 1st of July 2019 and was two years old when he was eventually handed over to FOUR PAWS after the rescue mission marked the culmination of protracted negotiations with the private keeper. Dolf along with his siblings arrived at LIONSROCK on 10 August 2022, a day marked as World Lion Day. 

It is bittersweet to see the lions having finally found their species appropriate home at LIONSROCK and realizing that their experience is only one example of the thousands of lions and other big cats that are exploited and abused for commercial profit and human amusement. It is a permanent dent on humanity and FOUR PAWS stands vehemently opposed to keeping big cats as pets.