Chanel’s journey began in one of the most unlikely places for a lioness: the streets of Egypt. As a cub, she was purchased at a local market by a wealthy Egyptian woman who, like many, was captivated by the allure of raising a wild animal. Chanel was pampered, adored, and spoiled—raised in a household where she was treated more like a house cat than the apex predator she was born to be.

 

But love, no matter how genuine, isn’t enough when it’s wrapped in misunderstanding. Chanel’s diet lacked the vital nutrients and supplements she needed to grow strong and healthy. The result was a lioness with a noticeably small frame and underdeveloped muscles—physically stunted by her early circumstances. When she finally arrived at our facility, Chanel had no idea how to be a lion. She didn’t understand social cues, body language, or even how to interact with her own species. Her world had been shaped entirely by humans.

 

Enter Serabie—a lioness of a very different background, shaped by the harshest realities of the captive lion trade. Born into a canned hunting facility, Serabie’s life was never meant to be her own. Her genetics were carefully manipulated to create a large, imposing lioness —desirable for breeding or as a trophy. Her spirit, however, was not so carefully considered. Raised in a filthy, overcrowded cage with over 20 other lions, Serabie’s early years were steeped in fear, neglect, and silence.

 

But she survived. And thanks to the intervention of a compassionate overseas volunteer— someone who had once bottle-raised Serabie after she was taken from her mother—she was given a second chance. That volunteer, horrified by the truth of canned hunting and cub-petting industries, raised the funds needed to buy Serabie out and bring her to our sanctuary.

 

When Chanel and Serabie first met, no one expected the bond that would blossom between them. Despite her own trauma, Serabie knew how to be a lion. She understood the subtleties of social interaction, body language, and emotional boundaries. And patiently, instinctively, she began to teach Chanel what no human ever could