Six rescued lions are getting the portrait treatment, and the story behind it will get you

Artists around the world are painting the lions from Turpentine Creek's historic Canada rescue. It is the latest chapter in a seven-year partnership that started with a tiger who only lived four days at sanctuary.

When a rescued animal finally makes it to sanctuary, the hardest part of the journey is over. But the healing? That is just getting started. And now, for six lions living out their second chance in the Arkansas Ozarks, that healing is being captured in paint.

Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature, better known as ABUN, launched Project #54 on July 13, inviting wildlife artists across the globe to create original works inspired by Thor, Mufasa, Scar, Nirvana, Archie and Reggie. The six lions arrived at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge in Eureka Springs, Arkansas in October 2025, the culmination of the Refuge's first-ever international rescue mission out of Canada.

A rescue that kept a family together

The Canada rescue was months in the making, requiring international planning, permitting, and coordination between accredited wildlife organizations. And there was a twist: Nirvana gave birth to Archie and Reggie just before transport. The rescue ensured the lion family stayed together, and today all six are thriving with expert veterinary care, proper nutrition, enrichment, and the chance to simply be lions.

"Every animal who comes through our gates has a story worth telling. ABUN has an extraordinary way of bringing those stories to life. Their artists don't simply paint animals, they capture resilience, hope and the second chances that sanctuary makes possible." — Tanya Smith, Founder and President, Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge

Seven years of painting second chances

This is not the first time ABUN artists have picked up brushes for Turpentine Creek. The partnership goes back to 2019, when Project #24 featured the Refuge's rescued big cats and Project #25 spotlighted its rescued bears. Those projects introduced global audiences to the individual personalities behind the Refuge's permanent residents while educating the public about the realities of wildlife exploitation.

Founded in 2016 by Kitty Harvill and Christoph Hrdina, ABUN connects wildlife artists, biologists, conservationists and nonprofits through collaborative projects. The group has completed 53 projects to date, spanning every continent, and the artwork is gifted to the organizations doing the actual conservation work, free to use for education and marketing.

The tiger who started it all

Here is the part of this story that stays with you. In the middle of those 2019 projects, ABUN artists created a special tribute to Diesel, a three-year-old tiger Turpentine Creek rescued in January 2019. Diesel arrived with severe anemia from a suspected Mycoplasma haemofelis infection, a tick-borne disease that is often treatable when caught early. His case was too advanced. Despite around-the-clock care from the Refuge's veterinary team, he passed away just four days after rescue.

For the veterinary community, Diesel's story lands hard for a reason. It is a reminder that every day an animal waits for rescue matters, and that early diagnosis changes outcomes. His memorial portraits made sure that even the shortest rescue story would never be forgotten.

"Art creates an emotional connection that helps people see rescued wildlife not simply as animals, but as individuals with stories worth telling." — Cheryl King, Director of Marketing, TCWR

From remembrance to resilience

Seven years later, the focus has shifted from honoring a life cut short to celebrating six lives just beginning again. The first completed works from Project #54 are already emerging, including a watercolor portrait of Mufasa by artist Jan Briggs. As more artists share their interpretations of the Canadian lions, the project will introduce new audiences to Turpentine Creek's mission: rescuing captive wildlife and ending the cycle of exploitation that fills sanctuaries in the first place.

From Diesel's tribute to Mufasa's portrait, the ABUN and Turpentine Creek partnership has become a visual record of rescue itself. It honors the ones who did not make it, celebrates the ones healing now, and proves that some rescue stories echo far beyond sanctuary fences.

Learn more about Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge at tcwr.org and Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature at abun4nature.org.