Lion, bear trapped in Mosul as forces foil rescue attempt

A New Zealander is part of a mission to rescue the remaining animals at the Isis-controlled Mosul Zoo - but the bid has been foiled so far.

As the team tried to enter through Iraqi Army checkpoints on the outskirts of Mosul they were detained and questioned before Iraqi forces agreed to clear a timeslot for rescue workers and vets to access Mosul's Motazah Al-Morour zoo and prepare a bear, named Lula, and a lion, Simba, for transport as bombs fell on the city.

The animals were packed up successfully and removed from the zoo but Iraqi forces stopped the team at a checkpoint.

Kiwi freelance cameraman Anton Leach, working alongside the FOUR PAWS animal welfare charity, said he made a personal decision to save the animals.

"Humans are able to run away and escape but the animals are not able to escape and it is our responsibility to get them out."

Leach said that it was "heartbreaking to see the animals 'dying a slow death'".

"We had to get in there really quickly, we went in with armoured vehicles with about half an hour to get out with a military convoy.

Lula the bear and Simba the Lion in cages. Photo / Supplied

"The aim of the game is to get the animals out of the country . . . It's a very rife area . . . We will stay here until we get the animals out."

"We're not sure who owns the animals, there was one owner and now there are many . . ." he said when asked about the military action to stop the animals at the border.

There are reports the animals have been left outside the zoo in their small travel cages.

As there is a curfew in place overnight in the area, no one is able to check on the pair or feed them.

Dr Amir Khalil, a FOUR PAWS veterinarian and mission leader, told the Independent earlier: "We have to act quickly, because Mosul is a dangerous crisis area.

Lula in a cage at ruined Muntazr al-Nour zoo in Mosul, Iraq. Photo / Supplied

Photo / Supplied

"Lula and Simba don't have any chance of survival unless we can take them out of the zoo and bring them to safety," he said.

Since the battle to seize Mosul from Isis began, some 40 animals have starved to death or been killed by airstrikes in the zoo.