“Day 1: A lioness who wouldn’t eat. Day 30: A queen who taught us ‘wild’ isn’t a place — it’s a choice.”
Their Arrival
17 November 2021. The two trucks rolled into Three Valleys. Two crates. Two lives at a time. Two more to go.
The Four J’s — Judith, Joseph, Jason, and King Joshua — eleven-year-old siblings seen mainly in selfies but lovingly cared for, were now surplus after Covid’s cruel lockdown and the impact on their environment. Human drama around them was unfolding as facilities closed down, donors’ funds dried up and animal carers sent home. A few traumatised staff members remained, mostly working without getting paid.
Judith, the white lioness, pressed her muzzle to the bars. Canines worn down to her pink gums, worn smooth from years of gnawing bones. Her ribs rose and fell in shallow panic — separated from her brothers for the first time in her life as she made her trip to Three Valleys.
The vet’s words cut deep: “She’ll starve in slow motion if those teeth aren’t fixed.”
We had raced to finish their enclosure — trenches, electric fences, feeding houses — while their old carer cried, helping load them into their forever home.
As the crates opened, Judith stumbled out. No roar. Just a small, scared grunt.
Day 1: A queen with blunt canine teeth, fast asleep in her transport crate.
Joseph had been stitched up and is ready to be moved to his crate for the transfer to Three Valleys. He survived the night after the big fight with his brothers the day before.
The Silence
For 72 hours after the brawl, carers and the valleys held their breath. Joseph and Judith arrived first on 17th November. Joseph, with his lips torn, eyes gashed, twenty-plus puncture wounds—darted, stitched, and slid into his boma-house beside Judith. She paced in her enclosure, surprisingly refusing meat. Jason and Joshua followed on the 20th November, crated and sedated. Four lions, zero sound. No growls, just the wet slap of tongues on sutures or drinking water. Silence. We watched Judith nudge a chunk of neck; she turned away. Joseph stared through the partition at her, one eye still swollen almost shut, whispering survival in silence. Night fell again. Inside their houses, the Four J’s licked their wounds and waited—four heartbeats counting down to a reunion no one was sure wouldn’t end in blood. Each had their own house and were separated by sliding gates. Reunion could not be delayed for too long.
72 hours. Not a roar. Just heartbeats.
The First Breakthrough
Day 3. Dawn bled pink over our first protea fields. Michael—human Michael—sat cross-legged outside Judith’s house with a chunk of meat in a metal bowl balanced on his knee just below a feeding hatch.
Michael delivered the meat and waited. Then: a twitch of her ear. A single paw step. Judith lowered her head, sniffed, and—hesitated. She pressed her mouth to it, gums parting like wet velvet. One bite. Another. Blood dripped on the concrete, but she was eating. The lack of proper canines no longer an issue.
Joshua didn’t cheer. He seemed to whisper: “There you go, girl.”
Joseph watched, stitches itching. Jason — the peacemaker — observed every move.
That night, Judith ate a full meal. So did the rest.
The silence cracked.
Their Reunion
23 November 2021. The Four J’s were reunited.
Darted. Checked. Medicated. Prayed over and BRUT deodorant applied liberally — all wearing the same scent.
20 people then waited in silence for the drug reversal to hit home. First wobbly steps. Then: nuzzles, chuffs, a low rumble — the pride remembered itself. Rox who became our first curator also joined the team on this memorable day.
Judith, on the far right, lifted her head.
“And then… we were OK “ (Photo Credit to Bill Woods, a couple of months later)
The Roar
Shortly before Christmas 2021 02:00 a.m. The valleys were black glass when it happened properly for the first time. All of us were jolted awake by a new sound, some 200 meters away from our lodgings.
It was not a full-maned thunder which reached us first, but a cracked, defiant roar—half rasp, half trumpet—rolling down the valley and then rattling our hearts. Then Joseph, Jason and Joshua answered Judith by low rumblings of recognition and then let rip the way they were used to. Even without proud canines, Judith had claimed the night.
We tried to record it on a phone: pure, broken royalty. By dawn she was pacing the fence line, head high, demanding breakfast. The queen also had remembered her voice. And our wonderful, supporting neighbours more than 3 kilometres away sent us a message: we heard them!
The Mathematics of Hope
The resurrection cost for Judith and her brothers was not cheap but worth every cent to the donors and the caretakers. Vet darts, stitches, antibiotics, specialized soft-meat diet, labour and of course their enclosures. To the animals it made a difference. To those who had to send them off to an unknown destination, it mattered.
At current costs we have to sell around 120 – 150 “Judith Blend” protea bouquets for 480 kg of meat = 100 days for Judith to eat like a queen.
One flower sold paid for one roar. During 2025 the Non-Profit Company was eventually fully established, making it possible for donors to claim the incentive they deserve.
Paid for by Bouquet #472 – one day of food for Queen Judith
What Judith Taught Us
Being wild isn’t the size of the enclosure alone. It’s a heartbeat. Hope is stubborn—and it smells like BRUT deodorant at times ! A lioness without canines can still bite the world. And for Three Valleys, every protea picked was a predator fed during the founding years.
P.S.
King Joshua never made it to the day when his story would be told 4 years later. After years of neural storms and emergency dashes for medicine, he lay down beside his Judith and couldn’t rise. She stayed with him until the end— a queen guarding her broken king. His grave is nearby where Judith first roared. Every bouquet you buy, visit you bring as a volunteer or day visitor, or a donation you make, waters his memory too.
And yes — Judith had a major dental intervention. Full story in a later blog. 🦷🦁
Order a “Judith Blend” Bouquet or Questions?
If you feel moved by her story, reach out and we can make up a special bouquet for you. The proceeds you donate will go towards Judith and the other rescued cats, and your bouquet will be delivered to a worthy cause in our area such as the frail care unit of an old-age home, which you can nominate.
To donate a “Judith Blend” Bouquet email proteas@threevalleys.co.za and put JUDITH in the subject line for more information – minimum donation of R450.
If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to information@threevalleys.co.za and feel free to ask your question !
