Lions, tigers and bears reportedly struggling to survive in poor conditions for years at a now-closed zoo in Argentina are finally receiving the medical care they’ve desperately needed, according to The Associated Press. The animals being treated before their eventual transport to wildlife sanctuaries around the globe include 62 big cats and two brown bears.
Zoo shutdown following safety concerns
Authorities shut down the zoo that sits on the outskirts of Buenos Aires in 2020 over safety concerns. The zoo was famous for allowing guests to handle and take pictures alongside tigers and lions.
Download the SAN app today to stay up-to-date with Unbiased. Straight Facts™.
Point phone camera here
But since the Lujan zoo’s shuttering five years ago, the condition of the captive animals has only grown worse. They’ve survived with the help of just a few zookeepers, who, despite losing their jobs, have remained to feed and care for the lions and tigers stranded at the abandoned complex. But despite their best efforts, most have died.
Four Paws visited zoo in 2023
Four Paws, an animal welfare charity, first came to the zoo in 2023, when there were reportedly 112 lions and tigers. The zoo had 136 big cats at the complex when it closed.
Since then, nearly half of the animals have died from poor nutrition, injuries, infections and lack of medical attention, including organ failure from living in cramped spaces.
An official with Four Paws called the conditions “shocking,” noting one cage measuring only 10 square feet housed seven female lions.
Tigers also reportedly shared a small cage with two African lions, which caused “a lot of hostility” and fighting, according to one official. They said that a single lion traditionally gets 2.5 acres to itself at Four Paws’ sanctuaries around the world.
Agreement with Argentina’s government
Four Paws reached an agreement with the Argentinian government to begin the rescue effort and took over the task of saving the surviving animals last month.
The agreement states that Argentina must promise to end the sale and ownership of exotic cats in the country, where enforcement efforts reportedly vary across the nearly two dozen provinces.
A monumental effort
Four Paws has previously evacuated starving big cats in Syria during a civil war, bears and hyenas from war-torn Iraq and lion cubs from Gaza, but officials said this is by far the largest rescue effort they’ve ever performed.
“Here, the number of animals and the conditions where they are kept make this a much bigger challenge,” Dr. Amir Khalil, veterinarian with the group, told the AP. “This is one of our biggest missions … not only in Argentina or Latin America, but worldwide.
Medical assessments for each surviving animal
Veterinarians with the organization are working to assess each surviving animal at the zoo individually. Many wild animals lack vaccinations, and years of neglect have forced some big cats to undergo emergency surgeries.
Following a medical evaluation of all the animals, Four Paws will help transfer them to larger, natural habitats around the world. However, officials said the medical evaluations alone will take weeks to finish.
