According to a zoo spokeswoman, six lions and six tigers evacuated from Ukraine arrived at a zoo in Poland on Thursday after a two-day journey that included skirting fighting frontlines and coming face to face with Russian tanks.
According to AFP, a Ukrainian vehicle drove the animals, along with two wild cats and a wild dog, approximately 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) to the Polish border, bypassing the Zhytomyr region, which has been pounded by invading Russian soldiers.
The truck had to stop overnight next to Russian tanks at one point.
According to the spokeswoman, the driver slept under his car while the owner of the Ukrainian shelter fed the animals because the transport team didn't know how.
At the border, the animals were transferred to a Polish truck while Ukraine 's driver returned home to his children.
For now, the animals will be cared for at the Poznan zoo.
Zoo director Ewa Zgrabczynska, who helped arrange the evacuation, said she is already in contact with several western organizations that want to take in the animals.
She also launched a fundraising drive as the city of Poznan, which runs the zoo, lacks a budget for the evacuated animals.
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