Last Kamo lions to live out days as sanctuary closes to the public for good

After two decades under public watch from thousands of people and numerous television cameras, the last four lions at the former Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary will have a quiet retirement, with the park permanently closed to the public.

Last November, the directors of Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary near Whangārei announced the sanctuary would close and that the five remaining elderly lions would be euthanised.

Owners Bolton Equities later confirmed to the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) that they intended to put down the park’s remaining big cats.

At the time, Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary facility operator Janette Vallance said Bolton Equities had made the difficult decision as “there were no real options left”.

Rehoming them to a zoo, sanctuary or suitably registered welfare centre was unlikely because of the number of big cats involved.

The Northern Advocate broke the news after which Helping You Help Animals (HUHA) stepped in with a life-saving solution.

The 32.5ha lion park – which opened in the early 2000s as Zion Wildlife Gardens, home to the Lion Man TV series featuring owner Craig Busch – was later purchased by ethical investors, and the Lionhearts Project Trust was set up to provide for the animals’ ongoing care.

With support from IFAW, Lionhearts Project Trust is providing vital veterinary care to four elderly lions in their twilight years at the former Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary, near Whangārei

Since then, one of the lions, Abdullah, has been euthanised due to serious respiratory issues that made breathing difficult and caused significant distress.

Lionhearts trustee Carolyn Press-McKenzie said the trust’s goal is to give the lions – Themba, Timba, Shikira, and Cleo – the retirement they deserve.

She confirmed that the big cats will live at the park, which will be closed to the public.

“All four lions are in their twilight years, and as with any animal, ageing brings its fair share of health challenges,” Press-McKenzie said.

“Our aim is to let them enjoy their final years surrounded with consideration and respect.”

Two of the lions were in poor health and needed veterinary assistance.

Press-McKenzie said funding from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) had allowed them to remove an aggressive tumour from below Timba’s eye and X-ray his spine to better understand how to support him in his senior years.

“Past owners were breeding for their unique white colour and most of the big cats at the park had their claws removed,” Press-McKenzie said, criticising the decision.

Press-McKenzie said the four remaining big cats are happy, and thanks to International Fund for Animal Welfare can be kept comfortable and healthy in retirement.

While the park would be closed to the public, Press-McKenzie said they were looking at sponsorship and fundraising to help keep the big cats fed and secure.

That could lead to open days for sponsors or backers, but that was still being worked on.

“We really need the whole of New Zealand to get behind and help keep these lions in the best possible health we can. Keeping lions doesn’t come cheap,” she said.

Lionhearts had also set up a Givealittle page for donations. It had reached almost $26,000.

International Fund for Animal Welfare Oceania animal rescue officer Robert Leach said big cats’ long and troubling history at the park is deeply confronting.

The big cats moved to the Gray Rd property in 2003 from Puketotara in Kerikeri. Craig Busch and his mother Patricia had planned to oversee an exotic display of animals including wild cats, deer, zebra, and horses.

Towards the middle of 2004, the sanctuary’s household fame began when cameras filmed at the park for nine weeks for the TV2 series Lion Man.

The show followed Busch as he tried to join a worldwide breeding and conservation programme for endangered big cats.

The good times began to unravel in 2006 when the park faced financial difficulties.

Busch accepted a bailout from his mother, who became the sole director.

In 2008, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry expressed concerns over animals kept in crowded, unsanitary conditions, as well as lions and tigers kept in the same enclosure.

The ministry had then considered finding a new operator or euthanising the park’s big cats, among other options.

In 2009, tragedy struck when a zookeeper was mauled to death by a white tiger named Abu.

The incident led to temporary closure and safety upgrades.

By the early 2010s, the park became entangled in financial and ownership disputes, eventually leading to changes in control.

Auckland-based Bolton Equities bought the property in 2014 and invested $9 million in upgrades to meet Ministry for Primary Industries requirements.

The park business reopened under new management in 2021 under the brand Kamo Wildlife Sanctuary but went into involuntary liquidation two years later.