The lions, named Simba, Ploy and Vee, were rescued from a zoo inside a conflict zone in Ukraine in August, charity Animal Protection Denmark (Dyrenes Beskyttelse) said in a statement on Monday.

They were transported to the Danish animal park just before Christmas.

After being removed from Feldman Ecopark in Donetsk in Ukraine in August, the lions were kept in Poland for a while before being moved to Denmark.

The war in Ukraine was the reason for their evacuation.

“We are very pleased this was possible. The small zoo (in Ukraine) was in a warzone and the lions were at risk of malnutrition,” Animal Protection Denmark biologist Anne Sofie Meilvang said.

“Evacuation of large predatory animals like this is complicated and risky for those involved, local animal lovers and soldiers. After this, the task of coordination began to get them out of Ukraine and to new homes,” she said.

The three female lions are set to be given their own enclosure at the Danish safari park.

Knuthenborg has one of Europe’s largest tiger enclosures, Tigerskoven or “The Tiger Forest”.