Catching the Cargo Plane

Once Kobu was tranquilized, loaded into his specially built crate, and transported to the airport by Schenker International – he was placed in Aeromexpress’s holding area while he waited for his Jet Cargo Plane to arrive. Kobu needed to arrive at the Mexico City Airport at approximately 11:00 AM on Friday because there were so many required inspections to be done by officials before he could be cleared to leave the country. Since Kobu’s scheduled flight to Los Angeles, California wasn’t going to leave until early on Saturday morning (approximately 5:30 AM) Pat Craig needed to stay with Kobu to make sure his overnight stay in the cargo area went well.

All the inspections went well, and Kobu was cleared to leave as soon as his transport plane arrived. During his long wait in the cargo area, Kobu was calm enough to lay down and rest, and also felt well enough to eat a special meal of jucy red meat which had been provided by Mary Carmen and the rest of the wonderful people at GPDA. At approximately 4:00 AM on Saturday, Kobu was loaded onto a special pallet with some of the other cargo, and was taken out to the jet loading area. He did very well during all of the moving, and did not show any signs of being upset by all the new sights and sounds. Once he was loaded on board, the cargo doors were closed, and the plane taxied down the ramp to take off.

Pat Craig was allowed to fly along with Kobu so that he could check on him during the 3 hour flight. Kobu never showed any sign of discomfort or tension during the flight and seemed to relax as well as could be expected. The cargo plane touched down in Los Angeles California at approximately 7:50 AM, and workers from Aeromexpress met the plane and began to unload Kobu right away.

Once Kobu was taken off the plane, he was then taken to Aeromexpress’s cargo holding area, and Pat Craig accompanied him during this process. Customs officials, and agents from the United States Fish & Wildlife Service inspected Kobu within two hours of his arrival and cleared him to enter the country. A special crew from The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado were also there at the cargo area – as they had been waiting to meet Kobu and Pat Craig. They had driven a special rescue truck and trailer to Los Angeles the previous day, and were ready to take Kobu on his final leg of the journey to Colorado.

Heading west to Colorado

Once Kobu was loaded into a much bigger cage in the air-conditioned rescue trailer, Pat Craig and his crew of helpers started their trip back to Colorado. At this point, Kobu was happy to get into a much bigger space and enjoyed the temperature controlled environment of the trailer. He could also see much better, as there were no closed sides around his new cage, so he was able to feel much more free during this part of the trip. The distance to Colorado was approximately 1,000 miles and it took Pat Craig and his crew about 14 hours to get to Denver, Colorado.

It was 7:30 AM on Sunday morning when Kobu arrived at the Sanctuary. He was off-loaded from the trailer, and was taken to an area near the other African Lions that live at the 140 acre sanctuary. It was a quiet morning, so it helped Kobu to feel more comfortable since most of the other animals were still sleeping. Once Kobu’s cage door was opened he stood at the edge of his cage looking into his new home. Kobu could not see any of the other lions, but he sniffed the air and was probably able to smell his new neighbors. Even so, he decided it was OK to enter his new enclosure.

Kobu was behaving very mild mannered when he first stepped into his new home – as he had decided he should not to be too confident since that might upset the other lions. It was very interesting to see that he knew by pure instinct that it was important for him to be humble in his new home, so that his new family would see that he was willing to be very friendly, and not aggressive. Even though Kobu was not in the same area as the other lions, he knew they could see him from a distance, and he wanted to behave just right so they would accept him.

It worked very well, as the other lions just watched Kobu, and he in-turn watched them. He had a very cute demeanor about him during the first few hours, as he layed down and tipped his head forward and down just a bit – as if to bow down to the others. Pat Craig went in with Kobu, and gave him fresh water and food. Kobu was very humble to Pat as well, as he seemed to know that Pat had been with him the entire time, and that he cared for Kobu very much.

Kobu’s first 24 hours

Kobu spent Sunday resting and taking in his new environment. His new enclosure is one acre in size, and it is near the 20 acre lion habitat. He could see the other lions from where he was, and could also see many of the tigers that live at the sanctuary… and even though he could see all of this, he felt safe in his new home because he could tell that no one would be able to bother him in his special enclosure. Kobu was very happy to hear the other lions talk, and all the volunteers at the sanctuary could see the expressions on Kobu’s face when the lion pride (which has 12 lions in it) all roared at the same time. He took great notice of the sound and it seemed to stir something deep inside of him. Kobu was now feeling something that all lions should feel, as he now had real lion neighbors to talk to.

Kobu has not roared on his own yet, but it is natural for a new lion to wait a few days before feeling confident enough to speak. Pat Craig went to see Kobu very early on Monday morning, and at that time, Kobu felt good enough to come over to the fence and let Pat pet him. It seemed as if he was glad to see his traveling companion, and moaned and talked to Pat while Pat stroked his mane. Kobu has now begun to explore his new home a little bit at a time, and seems to be getting more comfortable each hour.

Kobu will spend a few weeks in his new enclosure which will allow him to get very comfortable with everything from his new found neighbors… to the volunteers that work at the sanctuary… to the daily schedule of events (like feeding times, and all of the other daily maintenance items). Once he has adjusted well, he will be moved much closer to the lions. At that point, Kobu will begin his process of being accepted into the Pride. This can take a few weeks, to a couple months based on how well the lions accept him – but given how well Kobu has accepted his new home – Pat says it will not take too much time for Kobu to be totally accepted into the Pride.

/Kobu is a great lion - as he made the long journey to Colorado like a true champion. He has behaved very admirably in front of his new family… and seems to be very grateful for his new chance at life. Everyone who helped Kobu in Mexico should be very proud of the great job they did… as it was a monumental feat to get Kobu to his new home. Kobu and I want to thank you all for the wonderful help you gave to us both – and for the new life you have given Kobu at the Wild Animal Sanctuary!/