Image copyright AFP Image caption Lula the bear was suffering from pneumonia when found at the zoo in February 
 
 The only surviving animals of Mosul zoo have been rescued from appalling conditions in the war-torn Iraqi city. 
 
 Simba the lion and Lula the bear were found abandoned at the privately-owned zoo in February, still in their cages and covered in dirt and excrement. 
 
 The charity Four Paws International came to their aid, and on Monday it flew them to a better life in Jordan. 
 
 Troops are trying to drive Islamic State militants out of Mosul, their last major urban stronghold in Iraq. 
 
 Almost six months of fierce fighting has caused many civilian casualties, and hundreds of thousands of people have fled their homes. 
 
 Image copyright AFP Image caption It took Four Paws International weeks to get the necessary permits from the Iraqi authorities 
 
 The Montazah al-Morour Zoo was nearly destroyed during the battle for the eastern half of the city earlier this year and most of its animals - including a lioness, monkeys and rabbits - were killed or died of starvation. 
 
 Amir Khalil, an Egyptian-Austrian vet who headed the Four Paws mission, said Simba and Lula were suffering from many diseases caused by malnutrition and lack of care when he first saw them in February. Both had very bad teeth, Lula was suffering from pneumonia and Simba from ill joints. 
 
 The next month, Dr Khalil started trying to acquire the correct paperwork from the Iraqi authorities so that the animals could be taken abroad for proper care. 
 
 Dr Amir Khalil speaks to BBC World Service 
 
 Two weeks later, their first attempt to fly the animals out had to be aborted after a lorry carrying them was detained at a checkpoint. 
 
 The lorry was stuck at the roadside for nine days until further permits were secured, during which time Simba developed a respiratory problem. 
 
 Before the plane carrying them to Jordan took off on Monday, Dr Khalil told AFP news agency: "This is a beginning of a new life for the animals." 
 
 "From now on, they won't have to be part of this war." ||||| CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Shamba the lion was the star attraction at the Marakele Animal Sanctuary, giving tourists in the park's safari vehicles an up-close-and-personal view. 
 
 On Saturday, he was lured away from the gate to his enclosure by a staff member. The distraction was meant to help park owner, 72-year-old Mike Hodge, open the gate to exit the park. It was described as a routine precaution, but on that day, it was anything but. 
 
 Mike Hodge Marakele Animal Sanctuary 
 
 Suddenly, Hodge frantically ran back to the vehicle, as Shamba chased after him. Then the lion pounced and dragged him into the bushes. 
 
 Shocked and terrified tourists screamed for help as the male lion mauled Hodge. Eventually, shots rang out, and at the end of the ordeal, Shamba was killed to save Hodge's life. 
 
 Hodge was airlifted to a Johannesburg hospital, where he is being treated for severe lacerations and a broken jaw. His family said they are devastated by the loss of 10-year-old Shamba, who was hand-reared and bottle fed as a cub by Hodge, like many other animals at the sanctuary. 
 
 The incident has once again raised concerns about the ethics of breeding lions in captivity. Critics say they become used to humans, but at the end of the day they are still wild animals.
– Lula and Simba are headed to a new life in Jordan. The bear and lion, respectively, were discovered in February in the war-decimated Montazah al-Morour Zoo in Mosul, Iraq, apparently the only two animal survivors in the facility, the BBC reports. All of the other creatures had starved to death or were killed during clashes between Iraqi forces and ISIS, and Lula and Simba weren't doing so great themselves: They were found dirty, covered in feces, and suffering from various maladies between them, including bad teeth and malnutrition, Four Paws veterinarian Amir Khalil says. But the Four Paws International charity stepped in to tend to them, and after various paperwork issues, Lula and Simba finally had their big day on Monday: They were crated up and put on a plane to Jordan, where they'll be placed in a "species-appropriate home," per Four Paws' Facebook page. "From now on, they won't have to be part of this war," Khalil told AFP Monday, via the BBC. (These elephants were saved from a muddy demise.)